


Project Zero

by TruebornAlpha



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Space, Anal Sex, BAMF Keith (Voltron), Body Horror, Bottom Keith (Voltron), Bottom Shiro (Voltron), Character Death, Dark Keith, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fake Dating, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Infected Characters, Knotting, M/M, Memory Loss, Mind Control, Mutual Pining, Redemption, Robot Feels, Robot Sex, Robots, Slow Burn, Smut, Space Opera, Space Pirates, Torture, Tragedy, True Love, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2018-10-29 18:45:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 234,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10859874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TruebornAlpha/pseuds/TruebornAlpha
Summary: The war with the Galra has stretched on for centuries and since the disappearance of the Last Paladin, the Resistance has been in shambles. With every passing day, the Galra's control grows, infecting more worlds and building their army of mindless drones. Keith never cared for the war. Safe in the fringe colonies, surviving on nothing but his wits and skill, he thought the worst would pass him by. Until he met Shiro, a disgraced captain on borrowed time, standing against the Galra with nothing left to lose but himself.A galactic war, a dangerous enemy, and a deadly synthetic virus. A story of two unwilling heroes fighting to find love against impossible odds.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Check out these cool species guides for the many aliens in this fic.  
> [Quvari (Pidge's people)](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com/post/160990185718/reference-guide-for-project-zero-read-on-ao3)  
> [Koryu (Shiro's people)](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com/post/161354511053/reference-guide-for-project-zero-read-on-ao3)  
> [Antalians (The Horned People)](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com/post/162262370733/reference-guide-for-the-sheith-fic-project)  
> [Galra](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com/post/164713339758/reference-guide-for-project-zero-read-on-ao3)  
> [Unilu](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com/post/166951405923/reference-guide-for-project-zero-read-on-ao3)  
> [Balmerans](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com/post/168505736553/reference-guide-for-project-zero-read-on-ao3-the)  
> [Alteans](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com/post/169938150833/reference-guide-for-project-zero-read-on-ao3-the)  
>  ****  
> 

_Shit!_

_Shitshitshitshit!_ Keith skidded around a corner and pressed himself flat against the bulkhead, heart knocking painfully against his ribs. He gasped for breath, trying to keep the sound muffled as his pursuers drew near. He held himself steady, willing himself to meld into the wall as the heavy footsteps of station security paused right beside him, the only cover the shadows of his tiny alcove.

Thankfully, Betrids had a poor sense of smell. They were fast and dangerous; their hooves were sharp enough to cut and their kick strong enough to break bone. The security on WSP-86 seemed to prefer them, but Keith thought the space station recruited them more for their cruel streak than their ability to keep law and order. They were little better than the gangs they attempted to control, but Keith had enough run-ins with their kind to know their weakness. For all their keen eyesight, they tracked movement. As long as he could keep absolutely still, there was a chance they’d pass him by.

“He went this way.” The Captain said, the only Unilu of the group. No doubt he was the only one with a brain, or they promoted him because someone still thought the Unilu were worth a damn. “Split up, I want that little thief caught, you understand me?”

His men hooted their agreement and their hooves thundered off down the corridor. It wasn’t until Keith couldn’t hear them at all that he finally burst from his hiding place, wheezing for air. Station security was getting dumber all the time, where was the challenge in outsmarting a pack of idiots? He grinned as he hoisted his stolen pouch, listening to the metal clink inside. At least it was a decent score even if the security guards were a disappointing challenge today. He tossed the pouch up in the air and caught it gracefully, tucking it away in his pocket. 

And walked straight into the waiting Captain’s trap.

The entire corridor was filled with guards and far more blasters than Keith had seen that week. A slow smile twisted the Captain’s face, showing off his pointed fangs. Two of his arms crossed smugly across his chest, the other two held a really unnecessary number of guns. “Vagrant scum. You’re all alike. Arms where I can see them.”

Keith tensed, hands in the air, the color draining from his face. “You’ve got the wrong guy.”

“You can tell us the whole sob story down at the station. Book ‘em, Grjux.”

Keith didn’t think it was possible, but the Captain somehow sounded even smugger. A particularly mean looking Betrid stepped forward, the sort of guy who looked like he’d tighten laser cuffs just because he wanted to. Keith swallowed thickly. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, there was only one thing to do. He wiggled sideways.

With a desperate lurch, he threw himself down a trash chute, stifling a scream to avoid inhaling weeks’ worth of garbage and incinerator fumes. Above him he heard the Captain cursing in three different languages, and a faint echoing threat followed after him. “Get to the docking bay! Don’t let him escape!”

They’d catch up, but Keith had a three minutes head-start if he was lucky. If he wasn’t, well, he’d land on his head, and human skulls just weren’t built for that sort of thing.

He slammed into the crisscrossing bars of a radiation sieve. Somewhere below, the hydrogen incinerator continued to churn. Just as more junk clinked and clanked towards him, Keith shoved his way through another pipeline, tumbling all the way down until the world opened up and he landed on a pile of drying goop. Keith groaned.

Arms like mush, knees like whatever he just fallen into, he hobbled away from the service facilities of the docking bay and into the main terminal. Only a service bot stopped him. He would have stepped over it before it could start vacuuming his shoes, but it gave him idea. There would be more places for Keith to hide, but that wasn’t going to stop the security team. He took a moment to knock on the bot’s head. Phase 1 complete, he kept walking.

The bay was just as crowded as he remembered it, overflowing with an influx of war refugees who had nowhere better to be. He was so distracted by his search that he didn’t notice he was wandering off course until it was too late. Keith walked face first into a bad decision.

“Hey, watch it.”

Strong arms steadied him and Keith looked up into a scarred face, turned handsome by its expressive eyes and open concern. A shock of white hair hung over his brow and there was a bemused smile lurking in the corners of his mouth. The thing that struck Keith first was seeing another human out here. They rarely ventured this far out in the fringe systems and away from the safety of their colonies. It had been a long time since he’d seen anyone like him out here.

Two dark furred ears twitched curiously on top of the stranger’s head and Keith’s realized his mistake. “Sorry, I-“

“There he is!” The cry went up behind him and Keith cursed, shoving the stranger away from him. He hadn’t survived this long without being a crafty thief and sometimes the best way to survive was to know when to give something back.

“I didn’t do anything, this guy did!” Keith gestured wildly at the stranger before throwing his hands up as the winded security guards surrounded him. “I swear, I didn’t do anything.”

“Like hell you didn’t.” The Unilu Captain gestured for his men to grab Keith, patting him down in the middle of the growing crowd. One of the Betrids sat back and shrugged.

“He’s clean, boss.”

“Then he must have stashed it somewhere. We’re taking him back to headquarters with us for questioning.”

“Uh, sir?” Another of the guards held up a small device, its screen pinging an urgent red. “I’m picking up traces of Balmeran energy, but not from him.” He turned, following the sources as the beeping intensified. The security guard looked up at the scarred stranger. “I think it’s this guy?”

“Then take him.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” 

The stranger barely had time to react before he was mobbed by the Betrid guards and pulled to the floor. One of the guards whistled in victory as he pulled a small pouch from the stranger’s pocket and held it up for their captain to see. The Unilu scowled darkly, watching Keith with narrowed calculating eyes before gesturing at his men.

“Fine, cuff that one instead and bring him with us. And you.” He leveled two sets of pointer fingers at Keith’s face. “You got lucky this time.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Keith repeated sourly, but he didn’t stick around to see if anyone believed him. The poor spacer’s protests followed him down the hall, but Keith definitely wasn’t sticking around for those either. He kept his distance, but he didn’t have to worry. The guards cleared out all too quickly, and he doubled back to the service center. The service bot was dusting away, its circular brushes carving a path through the grime on the ground, and when Keith opened its anterior casing, another little bag tumbled out.

Jackpot.

Balmeran couplings were insanely difficult to get to. Mining sites were either controlled by the Galra or rapidly depleting for war efforts. All that meant was Keith was coming out of this with a fat paycheck, more than worth the impromptu carnival ride. He only relaxed after he unloaded the couplings on the third floor, to a skeevy looking Quvari whose beady eyes followed him all the way out of site.

Keith didn’t care. There was someone waiting for him.

WSP-86 was never going to feature in anyone’s dream vacation, but as the war had worsened, it had flooded with people, like every other free port. The residential areas were filled to the brim and then some, and even those who could afford proper housing were jamming themselves into sardine cans. Then there were the unsanctioned settlements. They crept up wherever people could put their bags down for longer than an hour. The biggest was on the second subbasement, directly above the incinerators. The heat was always sweltering, but security rarely cared about patrolling that area. There was no one who could afford their protection that far down.

For the refugees fleeing the war front, even the cramped, dangerous conditions seemed like safety, and Keith always marveled at how desperate people were able to transform anything into a home. The camps had been here as long as he could remember, and the war had stretched on for centuries before him. He’d been just one more orphan among millions displaced and looking for a place to run. Things had gotten even worse over the last few decades when the Last Paladin, the leader of the Resistance had finally fallen, and the Galra swept through system after system with no one to stop them. It was only a matter of time before they claimed the entire galaxy.

But those worries were far from the fringe systems. Here, war was a distant threat when surviving day to day was much more of a challenge. People cared more about food than empires, and life was hard enough without invasion.

Keith ducked under a low, leaking steam pipe, the heat radiating dangerously from the metal. It was sweltering down here, but it kept out some of the station’s more temperature sensitive species which gave the residents a little privacy.

“KEEF!” A tiny fuzzy form tackled him from an alcove, clinging to his side with suckered hands. The cry went up as more children came running out of the ducts and from their hidden bolt holes, clustering around him. The orphans of a dozen different worlds, survivors just like him.

“Keith!”

“Did you bring us anything?”

“Look what I can do!” A tiny reptile child hocked up a ball of spit and hit one of the steam pipes with a sizzle and barely missing her friend who gave an outraged squawk. “I’ve been practicing.”

“That’s pretty impressive.” Keith said, dragging the horde of children with him into their makeshift camp. “I do have something for you. Anybody hungry?” He pulled out the container of food packs he’d traded for the Balmeran couplings and another cry went up around him.

They scrambled to get the best pickings but with noticeably more consideration than most of their adult counterparts would have. It was easy to tell familiar faces from newcomers that way, and Keith did a quick head count. He tried not to worry, but he never quite managed it. If a regular was missing it could just mean they were somewhere else on the station. It could also mean that one of the gangs had picked them up; there was no shortage of jobs for someone who was quick and wily and willing to work for next to nothing.

He was normally more careful with the jobs he did. Just because station security was terrible didn’t mean he wanted to draw unnecessary attention to himself. The Balmera couplings were just too good a deal to pass up. If they were careful, the kids would be able to stretch out their supplies for over a week, and at these camps, people were always careful.

He’d made the right call. He just didn’t like that he’d had to drag someone else into it.

“Keef’re you okay?” There was a food packet being waved in his face, and Keith gently turned it down. His friend shrugged as if to say it was his loss. With a slurping noise the packet was torn apart and all but devoured.

“Just thinking. Hey, have any of you guys seen someone who looks like me around here? I mean, like a human, but with ears at the top of their head? Maybe someone new?”

A few looks were exchanged. The grape vine stretched on in many directions, and the best spies were those that were never seen. Unfortunately no one had anything to share.

“Naw. You looking for someone?”

“Just someone that was taken by security.”

The children paused and made a sad noise as one. Those taken by security rarely made it back, they’d seen what happened to those arrested even for minor infractions. The only way the ancient station held together was to use prisoner labor to make the most dangerous of repairs. There weren’t any shortages of criminals and if security ever found themselves lacking, it was easy enough to invent charges. There was no one powerful enough to stop them. Keith had taught the orphans to run at the sight of them, it wasn’t worth the risk.

The thought just made the guilt sit heavier in his stomach.

Keith hadn’t meant to pass the blame off, and a spacer had a better chance at getting out than any of the stations’ residents. If the man’s captain was willing to pay for his release, security might actually let him go. He’d be fine, it wasn’t his problem. It was just another casualty of survival, the score was more important. If the stranger was smart enough he’d find a way out on his own, it wasn’t up to Keith to save anyone.

Damn it.

“You okay, Keef?” A little girl tugged on his sleeve, looking up at him through a poof of soft feathers. Her beak was set in a serious line, way too worried for someone her age.

“Yeah, I just think I have to check on something. You going to be okay?”

She nodded and shyly pressed a sharp kiss to his arm before running off to join the other kids. Keith sighed. It wasn’t his problem, he did what he had to do. Why couldn’t he ever just make the smart decision? 

But if he was worried about smart decisions, the only mouth he’d be feeding was his own.

“I’ve got to go. Are you guys going to be okay?”

A chorus of goodbyes and well wishes greeted him, and too many thanks were passed around. They treated every meeting like it would be their last. They might not have known exactly what Keith did to get them food, but they’d lost the privilege of ignorance long ago. Every time he left, they never expected to see him come back, but they hoped. Sometimes hope was all any of them really had.

Keith could use some now.

The security center was located at the heart of WSP-86, giving them quick access to almost anywhere on the station. That was the only access point to their holding and processing cells. Even if their resources slackened elsewhere, they had eyes and ears on almost every inch of that floor.

If they’d sent the spacer down to the incinerators, Keith was already too late.

It was a good thing that  _if_ wasn’t good enough to keep him out.

In a quiet hall two floors beneath the security center, Keith carefully unfastened an old vent panel to gain access to the pipe system. This was not the most reckless thing he’d ever done, but it was pretty close.

He knew every inch of this station, he’d taken the time to learn every passage and every system. He’d set up small sensors plugged into the station’s network to monitor their communications. It wasn’t much, just enough to keep an eye on alerts as he moved unseen through the vents. If they triggered a sweep, they would hopefully give him enough warning before the vermin lasers incinerated him. Hopefully.

This was a mistake. There was no denying it, he was putting everything at risk for a nobody that meant nothing. Keith wished for the thousandth time he could just ignore the guilt and leave the man behind. His bleeding heart was going to get him killed one of these days, though he hoped it wasn’t today.

The device on his wrist gave a quiet chirrup and Keith froze, tapping out a few commands. _Shit shit shit._ He held out his wrist, scanning the tunnel ahead of him and frowning at the readout. Someone had been in here, the security system had been upgraded with new heat sensors. Probably to deal with the rat problem, the last one Keith had seen had been at least two feet long.

Yet another thing he hoped to avoid. Trapped in a small space with a vicious mutant rodent would be a messy way to go. Keith tapped out a quick command, sending out a pulse of electricity that shorted out the sensors for long enough to let him scoot by.

He guessed he was right on top of the security center. Keith didn’t really know. It wasn’t like breaking into a security center was a hobby. There was nothing worth stealing and it was crawling with guards that wanted to shoot him.

His plan was messy at best. He’d jury rigged one of the station cameras into a portable device. He hoped to slip it through the cracks, and keep an eye out for a chance to strike. Then when the coast was clear (or at least, as clear as it could be), he’d break in. Hopefully before the vermin alarm went off.

It sounded good in theory. In practice, he was flying blind. He had no idea what sort of anti-surveillance devices the security center had installed around its vents. He could already be dead in the water, but Keith wasn’t about to turn back now. He just had to be as careful as possible.

Then someone screamed.

_Fuck it all to hell!_

Keith yanked up his bandanna, masking half of his face before punching out the vent. He dropped to the ground with his knife raised, ready to take down as many as he could or die trying.

On the ground were seven Betrids in various states of unmoving. At the center of it all was the spacer. He did not look impressed.

“I came to rescue you.” Keith blurted out.

The spacer snorted. 

“I don’t need to be rescued, kid. Aren’t you the reason I’m in here?”

“I’m not a kid.” Keith bristled, tightening his grip around his knife. “I got in here, didn’t I?”

“Congrats.” The man said dryly. “The point is to get out.” They both tensed as the main lights dimmed, emergency lights flooding the room with a red glow as alarms started to blare. The stranger’s ears flattened to the back of his head and he bared his teeth in annoyance. He rushed to the door, typing furiously at the keypad to try and override the controls.

“Let me help.” Keith offered, wincing at how lame he sounded. He was sure he could hear the sound of hooves against the floor already, or maybe that was just his imagination? He could crawl back into the vents, he’d risked his neck for nothing, but with everything on full alert, his limited hacking skills wouldn’t be able to override the lockdown.

“Haven’t you helped enough?” The man snarled, losing his patience and slammed his gloved fist through the control panel. Sparks flew and metal twisted as Keith stared in frozen surprise. The stranger pulled the heavy steel bulkhead from the wall effortlessly, ripping wires from the control panel until the door groaned and slid open.

“What are you?” Keith whispered and the man paused, turning to spare him an inscrutable look, one eye hidden behind the tuft of white bangs.

“If you want out of here before the guards show up, you need to move.” The man ignored the question and took off running down the hall. It took Keith a minute to snap himself out of his shock and race after him.

“There he is!”

The guard barely had a chance to shout before the stranger moved, picking up speed. He dodged incoming blaster fire with a grace that Keith found mesmerizing, the blasts scorching the metal where he’d been an ugly black. He didn’t need a blaster of his own, not when he turned everything in the narrow hallway into a weapon. The stranger slid, kicking out one guard’s legs before twisting and using him as a battering ram. He swung the bleating Betrid into his comrades and lept up to grab one of the lights bolted into the ceiling, vaulting himself over the tangled guards.

Then Keith was moving.

It took all of one second for a sprawled guard to spot him and to fire down the hall while the rest of his cadre groaned. Keith played hot foot with each laser blast, running down the hall until he could slam his heel into the broad top of the Betrid’s cone-shaped skull before he sprung over the pile.

The spacer had a head start, but Keith had an ace up his sleeve. When he stalled at a fork in the path, Keith sped past him, stopping only long enough to grab him by the arm and jerk him along until he got the idea to follow. “You wanna get to the docking bay, this way’s faster! We’ll cut a path through the market!”

There was a direct elevator to the basement. He could get the spacer off WSP-86 in two shakes, and no one would be the wiser. It seemed like the perfect plan. Then the door on the far end of the corridor opened, and the Captain of the security team with a fleet of his best guards stepped through.

Their shoes squeaked on dull metal floor as they skidded to a stop, staring down the barrel of far too many blasters.

The spacer turned and glared at him, his ears all but disappearing into his hair and mouth pinched in a thin line. Keith couldn’t say he disagreed.

“You.” The Unilu sneered. “I knew you were trouble. Filth travels in packs. I’ll have you sent to the boilers for this.” 

Beside him, the spacer shifted his stance. He looked like he was seconds away from throwing himself at the guards. Keith didn’t break him out just to have him fried. 

Faster than anyone could blink, Keith pitched his knife at the ceiling. It slid through the fine life support controls and deep into a heat diffuser. All at once, the hall was flooded with hot mist.

The spacer was off and running before Keith could even shout a warning. He vaulted over one guard’s head, smashing his boots into the face of another. His disarmed them, leaving the guard’s weapons skidding across the floor. Keith used one of the guards as leverage to twist himself into the air and pluck his knife from the ceiling before landing low, continuing his momentum to knock the legs out from under another guard.

Shit!

There was no hiding this now. Even if he managed to escape, the Captain had seen him and he was done for. He could make himself disappear for a while, but he wouldn’t be able to avoid the security force forever. They would eventually find him and hard labor was the best of a list of very bad options. “Hey, wait for me!” Keith yelped, taking off after the spacer.

“I have to get to my ship.” The man said shortly. They burst from the security office into the crowded central marketplace of the space station, shoving residents, shopkeepers, and travelers out of their way. The spacer never once looked back, but Keith kept right at his heels. His only option was escape, he could leave until things cooled down a little and he wouldn’t be shot on sight. With a little luck, the guards would forget all about him in a month or so and the kids would do fine on their own. They were smart and resourceful, they could make it.

Which was more than he could say for himself.

Suddenly a metallic wail echoed through the terminal, and every public holovid screen on the station flashed the symbol of WSP-86’s security team. The Captain’s three-dimensional head replaced it a beat later, image so sharp the growing bruise on his cranium was outlined in shadow.

“ _ATTENTION ALL OCCUPANTS OF WSP-86.  EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, A BOUNTY OF 5000 CREDITS WILL BE AWARDED TO ANYONE WHO CAN CONTAIN AND DELIVER THE FOLLOWING FUGITIVES.  MAY WE SHINE._ ”

Then suddenly, an image of Shiro and Keith stared out at the entire station. And the station stared back.

Beside Keith, the spacer swore.

Keith was not ready, but the spacer yanked open an emergency fire box and wrapped the hose around his right hand. In his left, he grabbed Keith. Without so much as a warning, he leaped across the story railings, throwing them off the edge. Keith’s eyes bugged out of their socket, every instinct rising up to scream as they plummeted towards the docking bay far below them.

“That maintenance hatch!” Keith yelled at the top of his lungs.

“What?!”

“Just there!”

Caught in a free fall, the spacer pivoted his body, and they swung in a less than graceful arch. The spacer got them half way. When they were close enough, Keith reached out and caught the railings. He made sure they stayed.

They both hauled themselves over the railing as the spacer looked around for their next exit. His ship was still too many levels below them to jump and the hose was out of slack. They couldn’t stick to the public walkways, the entire station had become their enemy and everyone on it was a threat. He cursed under his breath in a language Keith’s translation implant couldn’t pick up.

“This way!” Keith gestured. “There’s an access tunnel that lets us into the elevator shaft. We can use it to bypass the next few floors and make it down to the docking bays. Just trust me, I know every part of this station.”

“Trust you?! How am I supposed to trust you?” The man rounded on Keith with an irritated snarl. “This is all your fault, you know!”

“I know, that’s why I’m trying to fix it. Please, I can get you down there before anyone finds us, I swear.”

The spacer narrowed his eyes, evaluating the truth to Keith’s words. He must have seen something worthwhile because he finally nodded, letting Keith take the lead.

“Okay, hang on just a second. I need to get into this…damn it.” Keith wedged the blade of his knife into the hatch to the maintenance hatch and threw his weight behind it, but it didn’t budge. With a muffled sigh, the spacer reached around him and snapped the heavy lock off the door with a crack, looking expectantly at Keith who swallowed nervously. “If we rappel down the central cable, we’ll be able to reach the bottom before they figure out where we’ve gone. If we’re really lucky, we’ll be able to get your ship ready to launch before they know our plan and power up the defense canons to shoot us out of the sky.”

“You’re not coming with me.” The spacer studied the elevator shaft before leaping across the chasm, gripping the swaying cable with his right hand. He wrapped his legs around the wires to control his descent and let himself fall with stomach dropping speed.

“Hey!” Keith was right behind him in an instant. The cable swung wildly as he grabbed for it with less grace than the spacer had managed. The speed would be too much for him to handle, he had no idea how the spacer could hold on like this. Keith clung with his knees as he pulled a thin metal cord from his belt, looping it around the central cable and leaning back to create just the right amount of friction to keep him from plunging to his death as a greasy stain at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Sparks from the metal on metal burst above him like trailing stardust in the darkness as he slid down the cable. They were actually going to make it!

Keith celebrated too soon.

The metal cord overheated quicker that Keith anticipated and finally snapped, sending him tumbling straight down without any way to stop himself. He shrieked, closing his eyes to brace for impact. He landed with enough force to knock the wind from his body, his head reeling. It took a moment to register that he hadn’t slammed into bone shattering permacrete at the bottom of the shaft and a moment longer to piece together how he’d survived.

The spacer stood on the floor of the shaft, Keith safely cradled in his arms. Keith could almost swear the other man was smiling. “Didn’t I say you weren’t coming? Do you ever listen to anyone?”

The spacer was strong.

It hadn’t escaped his notice before, but now it was distracting.

Keith scowled, but he still mumbled his thanks before carefully detangling himself. “It’s - come on, it’s this way.”

They had a long walk ahead of them.

Keith lead them through meandering service corridors, each of them on high alert. Every shadow could lead to a confrontation none of them really wanted, but Keith suspected they wouldn’t have trouble getting out of. Eventually the muffled sounds of foot traffic and roaring engines filtered back to them, sparking adrenaline through Keith’s veins and making him move that much faster. Beyond their hiding spot, the docking bay was bustling with activity. They peaked out at it like they expected a firing squad.

“Wait. Here, this’ll work,” the spacer said, grabbing a dusty old tarp. He shook it free and carelessly dropped it on Keith’s head. It was nearly heavy enough to send him sprawling.

“You can’t just leave me here!” Keith hissed back and the spacer hesitated, struggling to make a decision before he finally spoke.

“I’m going to open up the hatch on my ship. Just wait for my signal, alright? We might only have a few seconds to launch.” He said begrudgingly and Keith let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Staying behind would have been a death sentence, this was…slightly less of a death sentence, and that was statistically better.

He peeked out through the tarp as the spacer moved silently between stacked cargo boxes, keeping as far away from the guards as possible. He made his way to a dull brown ship, slightly smaller than the ordinary cargo vessels on the landing pads beside it. With one last quick look around, he crept to touch the side of the ship, which twisted like a knot, spiraling open to let him inside.

Keith watch carefully for the signal, suddenly realizing he didn’t know what kind of signal the spacer had been talking about. A low boom echoed around the cargo bay and Keith swore, throwing off the tarp and sprinting across the open space between them. That asshole had lied, he was going to leave him behind!

Voices shouted something to his left and blaster fire seared through the air as Keith poured every ounce of strength into reaching the door to the spacer’s ship. The vine-like exterior spiraled closed and Keith threw himself into the ship just as the wall sealed shut behind him. Heavy blaster fire rocked the ship and the engines thrummed to life.

Keith rolled to his feet and leaned against the wall to catch his breath. He’d reached his absolute maximum quota of running for his life today and if that spacer really thought he could leave Keith behind to be picked up by station security after risking everything to get him free (after admittedly getting him arrested in the first place), then he had another thing coming.

Before he could hunt the spacer down, the ship lurched, sending Keith tumbling backwards as they rocketed away from the space station at full thrusters. The extra gravity from their rapid ascent was too much and all the blood rushed from his head as Keith slipped into unconsciousness.

He woke to the sound of water.

Keith blinked open his eyes with a groan, feeling like he’d been squashed flat against the floor. He sat up and tried to fight the last of the lingering light-headedness before very slowly pulling himself up to his feet.

And stared.

The ship was nothing like the filthy rusting heap of scrap that was WSP-86. Everything around him was alive, like a garden had burst in the heart of the ship. Deep emerald vines crawled up the burnished gold walls, framing glass panels that lit with shifting colors and threw rainbows across the floor. Tiny jewel-like flowers in blue and purple hung from their runners and almost seemed to glow with their own internal light. Gold-leafed trees grew straight down into the floor, their roots merging with the ship itself and some squat, spiked plant stretched up out of a patch of sand. A small pool of water gathered in the center of the floor where black lotuses floated among lily pads and round balls of white blooms seemed to defy gravity all together, hovering in midair as tiny glass-winged birds darted around them.

Above the pool was a twisting mass of golden energy, pure quintessence that writhed and pulsed with its own heartbeat. Keith parted his lips to taste the heavy, humid air. There must have been a hundred species here, none that he’d recognized. They were integrated into the ship itself somehow, as if their life feed the quintessence at its core.

He almost missed the soft footfall behind him, but Keith was moving before his conscious mind even registered the threat. He flipped the blade in his hand, stopping inches from the spacer’s neck. But the other man wasn’t unarmed.

The gloves were gone and the truth was exposed, written into the spacer’s skin where he couldn’t hide it. Deep violet lines had carved themselves down his arm, shining bright with an electric glow, like the connections on a circuit board. His hand was entirely engulfed in light, his fingertips inches from Keith’s own throat in a standoff.  

“Galra.” Keith whispered hoarsely.

“Actually, I prefer Shiro.”


	2. Chapter 2

_Galra._

The name was synonymous with death. The root of a war that spanned generations and claimed countless lives, they’d crept up from stardust with no warning, incredible and invincible. System by system, they’d spread across the galaxy, as terrifying as boogeymen but as relentless as time. Subjugation meant the utter destruction of races, a fate worse than death. Their poison spread through enemy populations, twisting their flesh and reshaping them into mindless drones that obeyed the Galra will.

The Galra had never been to WSP-86. If they had, WSP-86 wouldn’t have existed.

There was a time someone stood against them, but that flickering hope had passed with the disappearance of the Last Paladin. Now only space and time kept them from overwhelming the galaxy.

Keith had never cared about them. Now he was facing his death and couldn’t find his voice.

It was said that the Galra could infect you with eye contact alone, but Keith couldn’t look away. He drawn again and again to the Galra’s arm, where thick lines of poisoned quintessence fractured what might have once been skin and bone, and formed the perfect squared plates of Galran armor. The spacer looked part machine, a machine the pulsed with a beating heart.

“Who are you?” Shiro demanded, and the energy in his arm brightened. The air around them crackled with it, singeing dust and mist until Keith felt like he was choking. It was the slap he needed. “Who sent you?”

“I’m not going to let you turn me, Galra!” Sweat pooled in the curve of Keith’s spine, fear wound tight and ready to snap. He was going to die fighting than turn into one of those mindless husks, his humanity stripped away and replaced by metal and machinery.

‘I’m  _not_  Galra!” Shiro snarled, ears flat against his skull. “Not yet.” He narrowed his eyes, ready to cut Keith down or worse, and Keith braced himself for an attack that never came. Instead, the blinding light of Shiro’s arm flickered, before slowly fading to a dull violet flow as he stepped back and dropped his hand. Keith retreated, but refused to drop his blade.

“Stay away from me.” Keith was able to keep his voice steady, but just barely. 

Shiro tipped his head like he was listening to something no one else could hear, dismissing Keith’s threat like it was meaningless. “You’re not a Galra drone. If you’re not a spy, then why are you here? Think very carefully about your answer.”

“It was better than getting shot by station security!” Keith said, exasperated. “Though if my other option was getting infected by a Galra, I might have stayed behind.”

It didn’t look like Shiro believed him, but he didn’t seem like he was going to attack. Keith didn’t relax, just in case this was all some sort of elaborate Galra trap. “Let’s get this out of the way. Yes, I’m infected but it’s under control. I’m not a Galra and you’re not in danger of catching anything. I’ll drop you off with my next delivery, it’ll be your problem to get back home.”

The offer was clipped, cold and to the point, but not cruel. The Galra were the terrors that stalked the galaxy, a nightmare spoken about in whispers and only half-believed. Whatever he’d imagined these monsters to be, Shiro was far from it.

Keith held his breath, his heart in his hands and beating through trembling fingers, but the spacer just sent him one last lingering look. Then he turned away. “Stay out of my way.”

Keith felt like he’d been gutted.

He slumped against the wall, chest aching with tension that rippled from his core to the very tips of his fingers and toes. When he looked up, Shiro was already gone, leaving him alone on an alien ship with nothing but what he could carry. Considering that he was still alive, it was a lot better than Keith thought it would be.

He could count on one hand all the times he could remember being on a space ship, but Keith had no trouble recognizing the components that surrounded him. He was clearly in an engine room. The whirring turbines and sleek compressors couldn’t belong anywhere else, but even with his limited experience, he could tell it was an engine room like no other. A large tree spread from the ground and grew around each structure, keeping them in place the way a nut braced a bolt. He reached out to touch one of the strange flying creatures that danced above his head, but it only let out a shrill twang before continuing on its path to another plant on the far end of the room. When Keith pushed himself off the wall, the place he’d been seemed to glow with a faint light. It faded into nothing a moment later, but Keith couldn’t find a control panel anywhere.

The pool of shimmering quintessence continued its lazy ebb and flow beneath his feet. He couldn’t look at it directly. It began to hurt his eyes, but it left the air smelling sweet.

Keith had been given free reign of the ship, and he didn’t know where to start. On the far end of the room was a cylindrical glass sculpture, supported by the same thick vines that crossed the walls like cables, some of them so bright it was as if they were made of quintessence itself. When Keith was close enough to touch it, it opened up to a large staircase. With nothing else to lose, he stepped through, and made his way to the top floor. What he saw astounded him.

Like the engine room before him, the walls were stitched together with metal, vine, and shimmering glass in various shades, all angled to maximize the light sources from above. Fiber optic cables spread across the ceiling, brightening the path in graceful concentric circles that took Keith’s breath away, brightening the different colored leaves that lined the walkways. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen something like this, but he must have, because the thought came to him immediately: it was like walking through a spring day. The little bird-creatures were everywhere, buzzing as they worked and too busy to pay him any heed.

With nowhere to go but forward, Keith let his feet carry him. At the end of the hall was another door. It led to a large circular room. All of a sudden, everything went dark. It felt like he’d stepped out into the middle of space, and Keith gasped it surprise. From floor to ceiling and everywhere in between, a billion stars greeted him. Keith felt his knees go weak.

“You’re just actively ignoring what I say now.”

Keith scowled, keeping a wary distance between himself and where Shiro lounged in the Captain’s chair. The spacer rested behind a large panel, arranged in a semi-circle. Shiro was the master of his domain, but it was hard to pay attention when the bright expanse of stars shone around him. 

Keith felt like he was standing on nothing, dark space yawning above him. He had a moment of vertigo like he could step off into the frozen abyss and reach out to pluck the stars with his fingertips. He finally tore his eyes away from the view and he could swear Shiro looked like he was almost smiling.

“It wasn’t on purpose, I don’t know the layout of your ship. I’ve never seen one like this before.” He complained, refusing to retreat but not daring to come any closer. Galra or not, Shiro was infected and that made him a threat.

“No, I guess not.” Now Shiro was definitely smiling now and Keith wasn’t sure if he should be nervous. “It’s definitely one of a kind. You’re not still planning on stabbing me, are you?”

“Depends on if you give me a reason.” Keith crossed his arms, trying to project an air of calm and failing miserably. “Are you going to try and infect me?”

Shiro’s smile disappeared and he pressed his mouth into a thin line. With a sigh, he settled back into his chair and kicked his legs up on the console in front of him. With a wave of his hand, the glass of the cockpit walls frosted over until it limited the view outside to a single panel screen in front of him. He seemed tired somehow, Keith hadn’t really noticed before. He’d been too busy running for his life to get a good look at Shiro, but he looked younger than he’d initially thought, dark smudges under even darker eyes and a single scar slashed deep across his face. With his sleeves rolled back, the glow from the Galra virus was impossible to miss, but other darker tattoos decorated his skin. They were too elaborate to tell what they were from so far away, but Keith wasn’t in any hurry to get closer.

“If you’re going to stay here, just try and keep out of the way. Maybe listen this time when I tell you something.” With that, Shiro turned his attention to the screen in front of him which flickered with displays in a language Keith couldn’t decipher. Only his ears gave him away, twitching at every near-silent sound whenever Keith moved.

Keith bristled at being dismissed and stood awkwardly at the edge of the bridge. He almost retreated back to the garden in the engine room but hesitated too long. “Does it hurt?” He finally asked, the question turned obscene by the silence that’d gathered.

“What?”

“Your arm. You said you’re not Galra, but I’ve never heard of anyone who was infected and wasn’t one of them. Does it hurt?”

The spacer went still, a hard line of tension following his shoulders to the very tip of his ears. For the first time, Keith wondered if he’d crossed a line, but Shiro’s answer was a gentle hush. “Only sometimes.”

Then the wall by Keith’s right flared up, and a single vine that weaved through the wall lit up with a silvery glow. “If you follow this, it’ll take you to the mess. There’s food in storage, and pods if you want to rest. If you need anything just. Just talk to it. I should hear you.”

Keith never expected hospitality. With WSP-86 under so much strain, only tempers hadn’t been in short supply. Shiro still didn’t turn to face him. Keith stopped second guessing himself.

“Thank you,” he said. Like everything else it felt too loud. “I’m sorry for asking too much. If I did.” He started towards the door, his shoulders slumped. It seemed like every time he expected something from the stranger, he was met with more generosity than he deserved. Keith wasn’t sure how to deal with it yet. “I’m Keith by the way.”

There was no answer to that, but he didn’t think there would be. So he followed as the ship lead him away from its captain.

The vessel was a marvel, no less superb and unfamiliar than what he’d first saw in the engine room. The lights were warmer than he expected, and they were softened by the canopy of branches that moved over head. Every time he touched something, it glowed, and Keith had the creeping suspicion that he was missing out on some of the ship’s finer abilities. The mess hall was the same way, as spacious as any could be considering the limited size of a ship, but open and welcoming. Yet it confirmed something Keith had begun to suspect. The ship was too big to have been built for just one crew member.

There was no one else here.

He busied himself where he’d been designated, uncertain but not enough to curb his curiosity. Though after ten minutes of trying to find  _food_ , he began to wonder if he’d misunderstood the whole thing. 

Behind him someone cleared his throat. His arms folded over his head, ears folded downwards, Shiro looked strangely sheepish.

“I forgot to tell you. You’d have to ask it.”

“Oh, I-, thanks.” Keith stood back to let Shiro pass. It was like the ship had some living connection to him, responding to every touch obediently as it opened hidden cabinets filled with sweet smelling fruits. He loaded some plates with the fresh produce, adding a few protein packs he must have picked up from a trading post somewhere and set them on a small table.

Keith didn’t mean to hesitate, but the glow to Shiro’s skin was unnerving. The other man noticed and gave Keith an apologetic smile, setting on the other side of the table to put some distance between them as if that would help. “You can’t catch it.”

Maybe if Shiro kept repeating it enough, Keith would finally listen.

“That’s not what I was thinking.” Keith lied, sliding into the seat across from Shiro to prove he wasn’t afraid. He gave the food a sniff, but it seemed safe enough even if it was an odd shade of blue.

“Of course you are, I don’t blame you. First time you’ve ever seen one so close?”

“Doesn’t matter. As long as it’s not infectious.” Keith bit down into one of the fruits which exploded into a tart burst of juice. He made a quiet noise of pleased surprise and shoved another one into his mouth. It helped wash away his own bitterness. It took him a moment longer to dredge up the courage, before he glanced down at Shiro’s arm, realizing his insensitive mistake. “Sorry.”

Shiro flexed his hand, the violet circuitry and metal flickering in response. “I’ll live.”

It didn’t sound particularly nice.

Keith cleared his throat, trying to bulldoze on when everything he said just seemed to make things worse.  “So you’re really  _not_  Galra?” 

“Even if I was, would I tell you?” His tone was dry like a desert, but Shiro gave Keith another one of those sad, tired smiles and Keith felt something in his chest ache. He recognized that look, he’d seen it countless times before on the faces of brave children facing down each day knowing it could be their last. “Just to be sure, I promise to keep my hands to myself.”

“That’s not what I was thinking!” Keith repeated with an indignant sputter, but Shiro snorted so hard that even Keith caught himself smiling.

“Consider that payback for getting me arrested.”

“I didn’t mean to!” Keith flushed. Shiro was still smiling, and that only seemed to make it worse. “It was an accident.”

“How many people do you accidentally get arrested?”

Shiro was openly laughing at him now, his ears twitching as he fought to tame his grin, and Keith would have given a lot to sink into the floor at that very moment.

“I know this- I know this’ll sound like shit, but I really am sorry. I had to. I needed those couplings. Everyone says that but I have people counting on me.” His expression softened against his volition, shame replaced with quiet realization that settled like a stone across his ribs. Just heavy enough that each breath had to be earned. “Or I had people.”

He hadn’t thought about it at all, but there was a very real chance he wasn’t going to return to WSP-86. It was a junk pile in the sky that really ought to be put out of its misery by a stray rocket, and he’d always known that every time he saw his friends, it could be the last time. Keith tried to tell himself that he had no reason to feel as bad as he did.

Shiro was watching him again, those dark grey eyes sharp with focus, and Keith averted his gaze uncomfortably, pretending to be more interested in his meal than he really was. Then a flat tablet was slid across the table, the holograph above it projecting a credit account.

“Here.” Shiro said. “It’s not much, but it should be able to get you a couple of rides back there. Just put in your digits… Hopefully by then, they’ll have forgotten all about this.”

“You’re going to pay me after everything I did?” Keith was always suspicious of a gift with no strings attached, but Shiro just shrugged and waited for Keith to press his thumb against the tablet.

“You did save my life even if you’re the one who put it in danger in the first place. If I send you back home, maybe you’ll stop causing me trouble.” Shiro tapped a few commands into the display strapped to his wrist to complete the transfer and Keith was almost positive that he was joking again. 

Then the credit transfer registered on his personal terminal. Keith was beginning to understand that Shiro was a man of his word.

The spacer always seemed kind, if a little subdued, and in time, Keith slowly let down his guard. He took to exploring the strange ship and marveling at its design. It was all designed to be beautiful as well as functional and was so different than anything he’d seen on WSP-86. It seemed like it was alive, the strange tech blending seamlessly with the twisting plants and blooming flowers that served as the source of quintessence to power the ship. Sometimes that troubled him when he thought too hard about it. The Galra were bad enough, and anything too close to that felt like tempting fate

Keith did his best to stay out of Shiro’s way, though the ship was small enough that it wasn’t always possible. Different sections switched between night and day to nurture the plants that grew in them, but he could never understand the ship’s internal clock and followed the light wherever it moved. Keith often found himself drawn to the bridge and its field of stars. After living so long surrounded by metal walls and cramped spaces, he felt like he could finally breathe. Shiro had watched him carefully at first to make sure he didn’t interfere with any of the ships controls, but eventually started explaining the ships systems and some of the star systems they passed. He listened with rapt attention, already dreaming about what it would be like to have this freedom to travel far into unknown space where no one had ever explored.

When Shiro announced that they would be arriving soon, Keith was surprised by how disappointed he was. He chided himself for leeching off of Shiro’s good will, but quietly tucked the emotion away, saving it for another time, when he could think about why he wasn’t even slightly guilty about it.

“Where are we?” Keith asked, as they looked out across a vast expanse of space. He’d taken a seat beside Shiro, one that hadn’t existed the first time he’d visited the bridge, but apparently Shiro’s ship was more than capable of handling redecorating. Keith liked it. He looked like Shiro’s co-pilot.

In the distance, a large grey sphere was rapidly approaching. Shiro controlled their flight and then their descent with an ease that spoke of endless practice.

Shiro opened his mouth and stopped, closed it, and squinted, before he finally confessed, “You know, I don’t know what it’s really called, but most people call it the Mouth.”

Keith wanted to point out that people liked stupid names on principle, until he got close enough to see the Mouth. Then it all made sense. The asteroid was easily three times the size of WSP-86, but it looked like someone had reached into it and clawed out its middle. Debris floated around it like tendrils of smoke, and its jagged fringes looked like uneven, angry teeth.

“It’s tough down there.” Shiro said haltingly, uncertain if his warning would be headed. “Getting a ride out of here should be easy, but… Watch your back, okay?”

“And what are you going to do?” Keith asked. The ship picked that moment to lurch forward, speeding its descent towards the surface of the Mouth. Keith knew exactly who to blame. For all of his hospitality and kindness, Shiro remained painfully, glaringly distant. Every time Keith managed to turn a conversation towards the spacer’s interests, Shiro twisted it around completely. Sometimes so subtly that Keith didn’t notice until it was over, sometimes by pitching the entire ship into an angry asteroid. He didn’t even know where he was from! Keith had seen his fair share of aliens, but none quite like Shiro.

“Strap in, this could get a little bumpy.” Before Keith could protest, the ship shuddered and Keith scrambled to fasten his seat webbing. The debris field around the Mouth was thick, thousands of derelict ships and chunks of rock floated around the asteroid like the tail of a comet, a graveyard of an entire armada lost decades ago. It was both the security that protected the outpost from larger pirate fleets who couldn’t maneuver through the wreckage and the source of income for those brave enough to scavenge through it.

The whole thing made Keith uneasy.

Shiro guided his little ship skillfully through the shifting wrecks with a precision Keith envied. If he lived through this, maybe he could start a career as a cargo runner. Being a pilot sounded like it would be more exciting than being another scammer and pickpocket back on WSP, especially if he couldn’t go back home again.

With a short burst of the thrusters, they were out the other side and approaching the settlement nestled at the edge of the Mouth’s gaping maw. This close, Keith could see that the whole asteroid was hollow, its core gone completely and the rest riddled with tunnels. The whole place seemed like it was ready to collapse at any moment.

The ship rocked slightly as it touched down, the engines powering down as the hatch unsealed. “This is it.” Shiro gave him a crooked smile. “Welcome to the Mouth. I’d suggest sticking to the main transport area, there’s enough legitimate traders here that you might get lucky. Things get a little rougher down in the tunnels.” Shiro unstrapped himself and Keith scrambled to follow him.

“Wait, that’s it?”

“It’s your way home, what else do you need?”

Keith didn’t have an answer that made sense. There were too many questions that hadn’t been resolved and the man who kept his secrets close. He still didn’t know why Shiro had bothered to help him, but Keith felt like he hadn’t done enough to even the score. “Nothing. I just wanted to say thank you.”

Shiro smiled, and Keith couldn’t tell if he knew that he was lying or if he was grateful for it. “Don’t worry about it. Be careful out there, okay? Wouldn’t want you to get hurt before you can get someone else arrested.”

The worst part was that Shiro looked like he still cared. 

They left the ship together, Keith still with nothing but the clothes on his back but his digital purse a little heavier. Shiro caught his eye one last time, offering him one final smile, and Keith’s heart clenched painfully. “Wait!”

Before that smile could entirely fade, Keith held out his hand, palm open but arm jerky and stiff. Shiro eyed it warily. “We - with humans this used to, um. This used to mean it was good to meet you. And it means, I trust you.” He said, tripping over the words and wincing every time. “If it’s okay?”

Shiro didn’t move, drawn to the right hand Keith outstretched and then the dark blush that covered his cheeks. Then very carefully, he mimicked the gesture. His gloves were rough against Keith’s palm, but even through them, Keith could feel the unnatural warmth of the Galra infection. Keith shook it once, twice before pulling back. With a shuddering sigh, he added, “You too, okay? You be careful as well.”

It was clear that no one had touched Shiro in a long time, at least not voluntarily. Even though he tried so hard to hide it, Keith could see the emotion breaking through Shiro’s composure. With one last nod and not another word, the spacer stepped out into the crowd and was gone.

Keith felt an unexpected pang. He wouldn’t have called them friends, he didn’t know enough about Shiro to say that, but it was rare enough to find someone who gave a damn about other people. Whatever secrets Shiro was holding, he carried them alone. Keith stood there for a long time, trying to see if he could spot Shiro in the crowd before he finally admitted that the other man was gone and he was just wasting time standing here. It was time to see what the Mouth had to offer, especially if he was planning on staying here.

The answer was a crush of life even more tightly packed than the tent cities on WSP. There were dozens of sentient species he didn’t recognize making their way through the marketplace. Some unloaded heavy cargo from the ships, boxes of supplies or scrap salvaged from the graveyard. Others hacked their wears from cramped stalls, calling out for passersby to try their goods. The smell of something frying made Keith’s stomach turn as a creature slithered out from one of the ramshackle buildings, weaving unsteadily through the crowd like it was drunk. A feathered child with a blackened beak bumped into his hip and held up her hands for credits.  There were greying dots along her wrist, the sort Keith had only seen on chronic Onyx users.

He slouched further and walked faster. Behind him, she spat at his back and he hated himself for it.

There was an edge to this place. The space station had been a hidden blade ready to cut the unwary, but this place wore its threat like a badge. Keith rounded his shoulders and tried to make himself invisible. Better to blend in than try to fight before he got his bearings. If it was really too dangerous, then maybe he would have to leave, but he wasn’t sure where else he could go. His knowledge of the surrounding systems was limited to everything Shiro had taught him and there was no telling if any other haven would be better than this.

He followed the twisting tunnels until he managed to work himself to the outer edge of the market where the crowd thinned and he could breathe a little bit easier. First thing was first, he needed to find a place to rest that would be relatively safe or he’d be spending the night further down into the less used tunnels that Shiro had warned him about. He had enough credits, all he needed was an inn that didn’t reek of being a scam.

A short burst of chatter caught his attention as he glanced down one of the dark tunnels that led away from the central market. The rest of the population seemed to avoid anyplace that wasn’t strung with lights, but there was some kind of glow coming from deep in the black. An almost electric sort of light in deep violet. Keith had seen that same glow before.

_Galra tech._

It was like an electric current had been let loose under his skin. There was still time. Subtlety wasn’t their strong suit, they couldn’t have arrived yet. He had to get off this rock. He had to warn someone, anyone!

He had to tell Shiro.

A sickening image of Shiro’s arm turning against him burned through his mind, and Keith took off running before he could think twice. He didn’t know why Shiro was out here, but if it was money, Keith thought he could pay him back. He’d convince Shiro to leave, whatever it was. Shiro’d find him another port, help him get on another ship to take him home if he had to. It didn’t matter. He could justify his actions until he was blue, and there were too many arguments that made sense. Shiro was safe, Shiro owned a ship, Shiro’d helped him before. All of them paled when Keith just wanted to make sure he was okay.

But the winding markets of the Mouth were a maze, and Keith didn’t know the first place to look. I felt like he was running in circles and every path only lead to more. Until he saw a flash of white hair. Two floors above him, in one of the overhead bridges, towering over the Quvari and completely dwarfed by the Freiznots, Shiro moved through the crowd like a ghost, and Keith scrambled to follow.

 

* * *

 

Shiro was tired. Shiro had been tired for a long time, unsure if he could remember what it was like to be anything else, but rest was hard to come by. Sleep never soothed the buzzing grind beneath his skin or dispelled the painful silence that twisted in his mind, and true sleep was a privilege he couldn’t afford. Not yet at least. Not while he was still sane.

Tired didn’t mean careless, and it certainly didn’t mean unprepared. He spotted his contact on the docks, a blonde furred alien with dark shadows under her purple eyes. He’d never worked with Nyma directly, but he knew enough of her to recognize her. They barely made eye-contact before they walked in opposite directions, separately making their way to a quieter meeting place.

You couldn’t be too careful in their line of work.

Shiro wandered in lazy circles deeper into the almost-abandoned tunnels at the edge of the settlement. If anyone was following him, it would be harder for them to manage when they couldn’t hide in a crowd. These meetings were always dangerous, but without a central communication network, it was all they could manage these days. He swung a left through a narrow crack in the tunnel’s wall where the roof had started to cave in, his wrist display lighting the way in the gloom. Something rustled back in the darkness, but Shiro ignored it. Likely refugees risking the dangers to make a home down here or some kind of vermin, nothing dangerous enough to trip his sensors.

He emerged into a large chamber where someone had obviously been living, a makeshift camp was set against one of the walls and lit with dim lamps. Nyma was waiting for him in the circle of light, glancing around nervously to see if anyone had followed Shiro back to her camp.

“You’re alone?” She asked quietly.

“Yes, I was told to report. Are you expecting trouble?”

Nyma shook her head, long yellow tendrils swinging gracefully. “Just been a little jumpy since I lost my partner, mercs got Rolo a few weeks ago. What’s your update?”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Shiro murmured, but there was never enough time to properly mourn. “Bercato Station went dark two weeks ago.”

“And you’re sure it was the Galra?”

“The last reports we managed to receive said there was a Galra Harvester in the system.” Shiro said as Nyma scrubbed a hand over her face. “If they brought their process ships out, then I doubt we’ll find any survivors.”

“That’s getting too close, Bercato is only a few dozen light years from here. They haven’t been in this part of space in a long time.” Nyma sighed and reached into the pouch at her waist to pull out a small data stick. “Here’s your next orders, coordinates are encrypted. It’s been marked urgent.”

“Thanks.” Shiro didn’t question, just took the data stick and slipped it into his pocket. “I’ll head out as soon as I resupply and-”

“Wait!” Nyma’s voice dropped to a frantic whisper, hand hovering over her blaster. “Do you hear something?”

Shiro’s ears swiveled, trying to pinpoint any stray sound in the echoing tunnels. There was the faint scrape of boot on stone and the trickle of sand as the ground shifted beneath a foot. He didn’t have time to even shout a warning before a bolt of energy screamed through the air and caught Nyma in the chest, sending her slamming back into the wall. She was dead before she made impact.

Shiro was already moving. He dove for the ground as the first flickers of light tore through the camp, and he grabbed Nyma’s blaster without hesitation. She wasn’t going to be using it any time soon. Shadows shrunk and stretched around the fire fight, and Shiro dove for an alcove in the tunnel wall.

He thought he’d been so careful. There was no way he could’ve been followed! But his enemies were pouring into the tunnel. Not the Galra, they were too disorganized to be Galra. With modified blasters and jagged armor, the four-armed mercenaries cared very little about bringing him in alive.

Going deeper into the tunnel was just as good as a death sentence, and facing them head on would be a quicker one, but Shiro wouldn’t let himself slow down. He just needed an opening. If he could collapse part of the tunnel that’d thin their ranks. It was a risky move.

One he never got the chance to take.

Like a whip, the long energy blaster curved in mid-air, lashing against the side of the cave. Rock and stone absorbed most of the hit, but Shiro couldn’t back away far enough. The lash broke against his right arm and shoulder. He trembled in his own skin, and then he burned. No matter how hard he tried, Shiro couldn’t bite back a scream.

His whole body convulsed as the energy seared every nerve raw, rendering him completely helpless as his opponents cautiously approached with their weapons trained on his every move. When it was clear Shiro couldn’t fight back, the leader lifted his weapon and folded one set of arms across his chest in smug satisfaction. “I knew if we waited long enough instead of taking that Resistance bitch when we first found her we’d catch something even better. You’ve got quite the bounty on you.”

“You t-think they’ll pay you?” The words were clipped as Shiro fought another painful convulsion, jaw locked tight.

The Unilu laughed and spread his arms wide. “Nothing personal, we’re just all doing what we have to so we can survive, right? Kerr, go get the restraints on him and watch that arm of his.”

“This is why your people are nothing more than pirate scum.” Shiro ground out, and the Unilu brought the butt of his blaster rifle down with a crack. Blood sprayed across the tunnel floor as Shiro moaned and their leader snapped impatiently at Kerr.

“Careful! He’s more valuable alive, if you’ve damaged him, then it’s coming out of your share of the bounty.”

The Unilu grumbled and knelt by Shiro who spat blood at his enemy, hissing a string of curses in an untranslated tongue. Kerr wiped his face and dangled a set of cuffs in front of his prisoner with a sneer. “Looks like he’s still alive. For now.”

The sound started so softly that no one noticed at first. There was a quiet crack, a grind of shifting rocks, and a groan of weight. Dust trickled down from the ceiling to stick to the blood smeared across his face and his dark ears twitched, eyes widening. Gathering up the last of his strength as his body seized and protested every movement, he rolled away to hug the wall and press himself as flat as possible. The soft groan became a deafening roar, the tunnel collapsing in on itself to swallow the Unilu. Their screams were lost in the thunder as Shiro screamed until he was hoarse.

Then just as suddenly, it was over.

The silence was unnerving, small pebbles shifting and raining down from the gaping hole where the ceiling used to be. The lights had been buried with his attackers and only the glow from his arm pierced the oppressive darkness. Shiro coughed, the rock dust too thick to breathe.

“Shiro!”

“ _KEITH_?!”

Then cables were falling from the sky, and Shiro stopped thinking for a while.

Shiro couldn’t remember much out of that. He stayed on his feet by sheer will alone, leaning heavily against the human, but he had to keep standing. The tunnel collapse had drawn all sorts of unwanted attention, and the sort of people who actively looked for trouble at the Mouth were not people anyone should ever have to deal with. The world swam in and out of focus, but Shiro held on with both hands, dragging it back into place, even if all he could manage was one step at a time. He had to keep going. Keith never would’ve found the ship without him.

Beaten and bleeding, but armed to the teeth, they scared off anyone who thought about getting too close. Surviving the Mouth wasn’t about being the strongest. It was about being too much trouble to kill. Shiro was lightheaded by the time they reached the main transport hub. He could feel the moment Keith began to panic, the ship nowhere to be seen, but Shiro could feel it, could sense where the imitation of old debris and charred metal replicated _too_ well.

Shiro reached out, touching what looked like a large pile of broken wires, blindly seeking an old warmth that once raced beneath his skin, eager to find its mate, to connect and flourish. The ghost of a whisper reached out, ready to grow into a voice, but there was only silence.

Then above them a ship roared.

It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but for now, it was good enough.

 

* * *

 

Shiro couldn’t remember anything clearly. The next thing he knew for certain was that he was staring up at Keith from the Med Bay of his ship, and everything felt warm. A respirator had been wrapped around his head, and when he looked up, the Helper bots were busy tending to the standing gardens. Keith hadn’t noticed him yet. The human was pouring over a data sheet that Shiro recognized as a manual. Shiro hated the Med Bay, but watching Keith scowl deepen the further he scrolled was almost enough to change his mind.

“I thought you were trying to get off this ship.”

“Shiro!” Keith jerked so violently, he nearly fell off his chair. Shiro’s ribs felt tight, but he didn’t think the beating he took was entirely to blame.

“What happened?”

“You don’t remember?” Keith frowned, and seemed to answer his own question. “The ship came for us. You got us to a hyperdrive jump, and collapsed before we could pull out of it. Then a - bed thing came out of the floor and brought you here.”

“Oh. Yeah. That. It reacts to-” Everything else was lost in a breathy wheeze, and Shiro squeezed his eyes shut as he sank into the bed. It moved with the faintest command, vine twisting with steel until he was reclining at an angle instead of flat on his back. Under his respirator, the air sweetened.

Keith was by his side in an instant, trying to get him to stop fighting the medical equipment and Shiro smiled. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had fussed over him. Keith was such a strange creature, all sharp blades that covered up a kindness he’d deny if Shiro ever mentioned it. “Don’t try to move yet, you’re still hurt. I thought you were going to die!”  
  
“Not yet.” Shiro wheezed. “Though I feel a bit like I’ve had half an asteroid land on top of me.”  
  
“I’m sorry.” Keith wore his guilt openly, brushing his fingers through Shiro’s hair like an apology, or maybe just to reassure himself that Shiro was still alive. He didn’t seem to notice how easily he stole Shiro’s breath away. “I saw something that looked like Galra tech, the energy was the same as your…it looked the same as your arm. Turned out it was some communicator those pirates were using. I followed them and when I saw that they were after you, I did the only thing I could think of.”  
  
“Which was bring the entire asteroid down on top of me.” Shiro was joking, but Keith’s story didn’t quite fit. He needed his head to stop spinning long enough to figure out why.  
  
“Not the whole thing!” Keith protested absolutely serious, so affronted that Shiro laughed until he groaned and pressed a gentle hand against his sore ribs.  
  
“I’m just teasing. You saved my life, Keith. I owe you for that.”  
  
Keith just nodded stiffly and held a small bottle to Shiro’s lips to help him drink. Trust was something he’d given up long ago, even those who claimed to be on the same side had to be viewed with suspicion. The Galra had spies everywhere and if they didn’t find him, the fighting factions that should have been united in their stand against the Galra could be just as ruthless. Shiro had been alone for so long that he’d forgotten what it was like to have someone looking out for him.  
  
He carefully reached up and pulled Keith’s hand down and linked their fingers together, the way the human had showed him. It was a moment of vulnerability and thanks for kindness when he had least expected it. In that moment, Shiro hadn’t been alone.

“I’m glad to have met you, too, Keith.”  
  
Keith tensed under his touch, not understanding the gesture at first before finally relaxing under Shiro’s hands. He pulled away, flustered, struggling to hide his emotions before Shiro could read them all too clearly. “You’re in the Resistance, aren’t you? That’s why you have a bounty on you.”  
  
Shiro didn’t answer, just settled back into the bed and closed his eyes. “I’ll find someplace safer for you. We’ll pick someplace after I’m patched up.”  
  
“Is there any place that’s safe left?” There was an admiration in Keith’s tone that Shiro didn’t like to hear, and a frown tugged at his lips, unbidden. “You’re fighting against the Galra, you’re really fighting them.”  
  
Shiro chuckled. It was an ugly bitter sound. It wasn’t enough to mask the honesty in his voice. “We’re trying.”  
  
“Is that why the ship is so empty?”

Dead silence greeted him.  
  
Shiro bristled, ears twitching uncomfortably as he looked away. There was so much Keith didn’t see, but Shiro couldn’t say he was wrong. It was just another thing he couldn’t face. He tried to detangle himself from the wires that held him down but he couldn’t get his bearings. His balance was off. It felt like there was an engine rumbling in his head. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.  
  
“Shiro!”  
  
Keith sounded so shocked that Shiro looked up sharply. The human was staring at the place his right arm used to be, but beneath his elbow, there was nothing there.   
  
The fragments of his arm had come apart where purple veins flowed with contaminated quintessence. The stump of his arm was jagged and uneven, the flesh an angry red where it was being converted. The separate pieces looked even more like circuitry, nothing but steel and alloy where he’d once been whole. A wave of revulsion threatened to drag Shiro under. Then he held his breath and focused. Except this time, he wasn’t calling out to an ally.  
  
Slowly each piece came alive, gravitating towards one another, then they reformed all at once. The arm was whole but Shiro thought he was going to be sick.  
  
“We’re doing everything we can.” Shiro whispered.  
  
Keith could only stare. 

“I didn’t mean-” Keith whispered, but Shiro cut him off with a hard stare.

“It’s what happens when they catch you.” Shiro flexed his metal fist as Keith couldn’t hide his revulsion. “It’s why you need to stay away from all of this, Keith.”

“But I helped you!”

“And I’m grateful, but you’re not ready for this fight.”

“Not ready?” Keith jerked back and gestured wildly. “I saved your ass back there, Shiro! I can fight, I’m smart, you know I’ve got the skills. I can do this.”

“You’re untrained and unfocused.” Shiro let his hackles rise, but was too tired for this fight. Stupid, stubborn kid hell bent on running straight into danger. He was going to get himself killed trying to do the right thing. Shiro remembered what that sort of reckless bravery felt like. “We’ll find a better place for you.”

“Where? I can’t go home again. At least if I do this, then I’m doing something that matters.” He carefully curled his hand around Shiro’s arm, the metal warm against his skin. “If I’m untrained, then teach me. I’m a quick study, I can learn anything you throw at me. I just want to help and from what I’ve seen, you could use it.”

"This isn’t a fight you walk away from!”

The words hung between them in dead air, a sense of finality neither could turn away when the proof of it surrounded them in every one of the ship’s empty hallways. Shiro turned away first, turning his back to the other man. He heard Keith start to speak. He was never one to give up easy, but in the end he walked away. 

_I won’t be responsible for your death too._


	3. Chapter 3

Shiro looked at his reflection in the mirror with a thoughtful frown, running his hands over the fading bruises and cuts from their escape from the Mouth. His bare skin was already crisscrossed with scars and intricate tattoos. The additional marks were barely noticeable. They were just another chapter of the memories written in his skin by choice or by the hand of fate. They all held images Shiro couldn’t share with anyone. No one knew how to read them anymore.

He sighed and stretched his arm, watching the metal plates slide seamlessly against each other. The infection had crept higher, but just a few centimeters. He was more worried about the faint violet glow lurking just below his ribs. Time was running out, Shiro had known that for a while. Every day was on loan, waiting for the pressure in his head to grow stronger, throbbing like his skull was caught between an anvil and its hammer. The worst part was when it stopped.Then the silence in Shiro’s head was replaced by something _sweeter._

This was the end.

At least, it was supposed to be.

Keith had been an unexpected complication, and Shiro couldn’t leave things unfinished. Being arrested hadn’t really been on his to-do list, but the young man had worked hard to prove himself trustworthy. He was… a welcome distraction. Reckless and excited, full of life and wonder that Shiro had nearly forgotten existed. When he watched the stars from the ship’s bridge, there was such a desperate longing in his face that Shiro’s heart ached with half-remembered dreams that belonged in a different lifetime. 

He couldn’t just leave Keith by the wayside in some dangerous, backwater world all alone, but staying here, on the front line of a war wasn’t much safer. He was going to have to let Keith go eventually, even if it was nice to have someone else on the ship again.

Shiro shook his head and squared his shoulders, before pulling on his uniform to cover his ruined body. He was letting the loneliness get the better of him, he couldn’t let himself get too close. Anything else was too dangerous for the both of them. Better to take action quickly before he got attached and made a mistake they’d both regret.

If only it could be that easy.

He found Keith on the galley, staring up at the Echo Roots. They were just beginning to glow as they entered their night cycle. Keith couldn’t look away, and Shiro wondered if he would accept a sapling when he left. At least that way, Shiro could tell himself that there was another of its sort somewhere, even if he never saw it grow.

“Hey.”

Keith turned towards him instantly, hurt but beautifully hopeful. He wore his heart on his sleeve, every emotion accentuated in those expressive eyes. He could never be a Resistance spy. After their fight, Keith had been distant, clearly working himself up to an argument that Shiro had been more than happy to side-step. Shiro knew he had to let go, but he knew he had to fix things, even a little. For one thing, with Kipo Lle weeks away, the uncomfortable silences would drive him up a wall, but more importantly, he didn’t want things to end like this. Goodbye was going to be hard enough. He wanted to have something worth saying goodbye to. “You okay?”

Keith crossed his arms over his chest, scowling defensively in a way Shiro had come to recognize as more awkward discomfort than real anger. “I’m fine. I’m trying to stay out of your way.”  

“I know. I wanted to apologize to you.”

“You, what?” It took Keith by surprise and Shiro had to smile. Had no one ever treated the young man with respect before?

“You saved my life and instead of thanking you, I was kind of an asshole. I’m sorry.” Shiro said sincerely and Keith squirmed uncomfortably.

“It’s fine, I just saw something that looked like Galra tech and knew I had to find you. The rest was just good timing.” Keith slowly uncrossed his arms, still wary on if he could trust this gesture of kindness.

“Not everything that glows purple is Galra tech.” Shiro said gently. “You shouldn’t go chasing off after everything that looks like quintessence. The next time, you might not be so lucky and you might find yourself in some real trouble. Or worse, you might actually find real Galra, they’re not anything you want to mess with.” Shiro meant to be comforting, but he must have hit a nerve because Keith’s hackles rose and his scowl deepened.

“I can take care of myself, you know. You keep treating me like I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’ve saved your ass twice so far. When are you going to trust me?”

“One of those times was because you got me arrested in the first place, and I was perfectly capable of escaping on my own.” Irritation crept into Shiro’s voice, but he tried to keep himself calm. Keith didn’t know any better, he was just some harmless hothead with an ego. “Why don’t you just focus on your next step when you get to Kipo Lle, you have your whole life ahead of you. You could go anywhere, you should start making plans.”

“Okay, fine. But I still helped and I saved you from the Unilu, you can’t say I didn’t.” He hesitated before squaring his stance to challenge Shiro. “I decided I’m not leaving.”

“We’re not having this discussion again, Keith.”

“I’m not discussing anything, I’m telling you. You needed my help and you  _know_  I can fight. You need someone to watch your back and I don’t have anywhere else to go.” He spread his hands wide as if begging Shiro to listen to him. 

“What do you _want_ , Keith?” Frustration tore from Shiro’s chest, sharp enough that it surprised him. He was angry, though not at Keith, not entirely. The past was long gone, but it hadn’t taken his regret it with. “What do you think you get out of this? Money? Fame?! When the Galra find you, what are you going to do, run to the Galactic Coalition and file a complaint? You don’t know anything about war.”

As quickly it had come, the rage ebbed away, leaving Shiro grappling at wisps of smoke. Nothing good came from lashing out at another civilian, someone given another bad hand with no home to return to. The satisfaction Shiro sought could only be paid in blood, and now his heart was racing and nerves too raw. Heat gathered along his arm, familiar after so long, and he knew without looking that the quintessence in his arm had activated. Keith was looking at it too. Shiro purposely angled it away from him, and willed it to dim.

The human met his eye, all the color drained from his face, but Shiro imagined he could hear the fear that whipped his pulse. He was a monster, Keith shouldn’t have to face.

But Keith grit his jaw, squaring his shoulders to meet Shiro, even as Shiro shrunk away. “I know you need help.” He said. “I know I can beat you.”

Shiro waved away threat. “You’ve got talent, but you have no idea what you’re up against. This isn’t a game, what’s happening out there is so much more than you know. You’ve lived in some backwater space station far away from this war, you don’t want to get anywhere near it.”

“If you think I’m some naïve idiot, then I’ll prove it to you. If I win, then I stay.” Keith growled.

“Keith.”

“I’m doing this!” He snapped so viciously that it made even Shiro pause. “You don’t understand. I owe-” Keith’s voice caught and he snarled. “I’m joining the Resistance whether you help me or not.”

“You are way out of your league.”

“Then prove it!” Keith fell back into a defensive stance and Shiro sighed. Whatever Keith was chasing didn’t exist, the only thing he’d find out here was pain. There weren’t any heroes in this war anymore, there wasn’t glory or honor or whatever lies the outposts whispered about the Resistance. If the Galra didn’t get them, then an ally might be just as likely to stab them in the back.

“Fine, if you’re so dead set on being an idiot.” Shiro didn’t give him a moment to prepare before he launched his attack, striking out at Keith with his metal fist to try and put him down.

He wanted to get passed this mess quickly. Shiro never should’ve underestimated Keith. The human struck out as he retreated, the edge of his knife clanging against the metal of Shiro’s arm. Shiro hadn’t even seen him unsheathe it. Keith was fast and agile, slipping out of Shiro’s grip every time Shiro got close enough to do any sort of damage. Just when Shiro thought he could catch up, Keith turned into him, landing a solid punch across his jaw that sent him stumbling. Shiro lashed out just to keep him from pressing his advantage.

Keith was breathing hard, but he wore his decisiveness like a badge. He was inexperienced and impulsive, depending on instinct more than experience, but he was  _good._

“Guess you really do want me to stay.”

Despite it all, Shiro smiled.

Keith rounded on him, favoring his defensive strategy. He parried each strike, refusing to give up any ground no matter how hard Shiro pressed him. He fought like his life was on the line attacking, so swiftly that Shiro was the one who had to defend himself. He was undisciplined, but he took to combat like he’d been born to it, leaping over Shiro’s head with an acrobat’s grace and more speed than should have been possible for a human. If this was raw talent, then with proper training he could be a powerhouse.

For the first time, Shiro realized he might actually lose.

He whirled, slamming his palm against Keith’s nose to throw him off balance while disarming him deftly with the other hand in a perfect Quvari military maneuver that would leave Keith’s fingertips numb. His opponent wasn’t expecting it and faltered, ready to defend himself with bare knuckles if he had to. Shiro sent the knife spinning away across the floor out of reach.

“Enough. You don’t even know basic drills, you’re a brawler, not a soldier. A Quvari recruit fresh out of basic training could take you down, let alone a Galra drone.”

“Then teach me!” Keith snarled, wiping a smear of blood from his face. He was going to fight until he was broken, Shiro could see it in Keith’s very bones. He planted himself on the floor of the deck like nothing could move him, stubborn and brave. It was like looking into a mirror of the past. If anyone had stood in Shiro’s way back then, he would have fought just as hard to prove himself worthy without ever understanding what sacrifice meant. Keith was never going to listen. When had _Shiro_ ever listened to anyone either?

“That wasn’t the deal.”

Keith’s spine stiffened and he glared, refusing to accept defeat. “This doesn’t change anything. If you won’t help me, then I’ll find another way.”

“I don’t know why you’re so eager to throw your life away.”

“No, you _don’t_ know anything about me.” Keith picked up his knife and stalked away, drops of blood staining the deck.

 

* * *

 

It was impossible to avoid each other completely on such a small ship, but Shiro was used to being alone and let himself be consumed by his duties. There was always something to fix or calibrate on the ship with one man crew. He was a pilot, not an engineer or a gardener, and it showed. He tended the living core of his ship as well as he could, desperate to save the last few survivors from a dead world, but the electrics showed signs of wear and hasty repairs. At least it all worked for now, he didn’t need it to last forever. The quintessence levels remained stable and provided enough power whenever the solar cells ran low. He made a note to recharge the next time they passed a star system, just to be on the safe side.

Energy arched from the control panel he was working on through the metal in his arm, sending painful jolts through his nerves. He bit back a curse, shaking his hand like it would stop the painful tingles. Stupid, he was letting himself be distracted. Distracted meant sloppy, sloppy meant dead. Shiro flattened his ears against his skull and hissed at the control box. It didn’t help much, but it made him feel a little better.

He caught the soft sound of footsteps behind him. It didn’t matter how quietly Keith moved, Shiro would always be able to hear him. He didn’t react, there was nothing more to say. Keith waited for Shiro to acknowledge him, fidgeting when he was ignored. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m not apologizing.”

“I didn’t ask you to.” Shiro said flatly, carefully twisting one of the loose wires back into place. A strand of golden light flickered to life across the ceiling and he sat back with a satisfied smile. Apparently, that wasn’t enough for Keith.

“You’re not the first Resistance fighter I’ve met.”

“I see.” Shiro wasn’t giving an inch and he could feel the tension building. Keith hated to show weakness almost as much as he did, and emotions were a vulnerability that could be exploited. He’d been a thief and a criminal. Trust didn’t come easy for him and Shiro didn’t demand any, but something knocked hard against Keith’s ribs like it was trying to escape. An explanation he didn’t owe anyone, a confession he’d never given. A secret that he’d carried inside that left him off balance and struggling to figure out how to take the next step. This was the last thing he wanted to do, that much was clear from his face, but Shiro just waited patiently.

“I don’t remember much before WSP.” The words were low, a begrudging admission as if sharing something so personal came with a price. “I remember a ship. I remember being attacked and someone screaming Galra. I hid I-I…” He swallowed. “I was afraid.”

Shiro’s control cracked and he turned, trying to offer some kind of reassurance for a long-past terror. “I’m sorry. I know what they can be like.”

Keith knocked away his concern, trying to get the words out before common sense snapped his mouth shut. “Resistance fighters responded to our distress call. I don’t know how long it was or what the fight was like, but I remember one man who found me. I was too afraid to take his hand when he reached for me, so he sat on the floor and just talked to me until I…until he could help me out from under the bunk where I’d been hiding. He didn’t ask anything from me, I don’t know his name. I never even thanked him, Shiro. He risked himself to save me from the Galra.”

“And you want to find him?”

“No!” Keith balled his hands into fists, frustrated. “He saved me just because he wanted to help. It took me a long time to understand why someone could do that. I kept thinking, it must have been for some reason. I lived for a _reason_. I helped my kids back on the WSP, but I couldn’t save any of them from that life. I couldn’t even save myself. But now, with you, I could do something more. This could be my reason, Shiro.”

“There are no heroes in this war anymore.” Shiro shifted, looking away. Doing the right thing had become muddled in grey and there wasn’t such a thing as an easy victory. “It breaks you down. You end up doing things you never thought you could do and justifying them as the lesser of two evils. There’s other ways to help people.”

“But I have to try.”

The young man had so much hope, untarnished by the realities of war and looming failure. He still believed in heroes and in what was right. It made Shiro’s heart ache. This war made you ugly and Shiro wasn’t sure that he could bear the way Keith would look at him when he found out.

“You’re not going to give up, are you?”

“No.”

“Then I guess the only thing I can do is make sure you don’t get yourself killed.” Shiro gave in. One of them was going to have to bend eventually, and Keith didn’t know how without snapping himself in two. Their destination was still weeks away and once he saw what war really meant, Keith would decide his quiet life in the fringe systems was worth more than glory. Maybe that would be enough to cure his stubborn streak. Until then, all Shiro could do was try and teach him enough that he could keep himself safe.

Keith lowered his hands and watched Shiro warily. “You’re really letting me stay?”

“I’m not going to shoot you out of the airlock any time soon.” He shrugged one shoulder with a wan smile. “The least I can do is make sure you’re prepared for what we’re facing.”

It was a frightening responsibility and Shiro couldn’t abandon him like this without making sure he could survive what was coming. This wasn’t Keith’s war, but war never really cared who it destroyed. Keith accepted the explanation with more professionalism than Shiro had expected from him.

“Thank you. I won’t let you down, Shiro. I can do this.”

Shiro gave Keith a small smile.

_I hope you never have to, Keith. I really do._ ****

 

* * *

 

Something had changed, though Shiro couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was. Despite his best efforts, his mask had slipped when they had fought, real rage and pain peaking around the edges of Shiro’s calm control. For a brief moment, Keith had seen him the way Shiro had seen himself, and he hadn’t been afraid. Shiro held that knowledge close, a secret that he didn’t know what to do with yet. Keith’s hope left him in quiet crisis, wondering where his own had gone.

He was good to his word, setting aside a few hours each day for training. He told himself it was for Keith’s benefit. Even if their time together was short, he could pass on something that might help Keith survive. A few rounds of sparring or some flight lessons wouldn’t keep Keith out of trouble, but it might help someday. It was certainly better than admitting the truth; that Shiro liked having the company.

“You need to keep your guard up more.” Shiro panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead on his sleeve. Keith only grunted and took up a defensive stance, too intent to argue. The human never ceased to surprise him. All Shiro knew about his species was that humans were adaptable and emotional, Keith seemed to fit the stereotypes well. He threw himself into everything with a startling intensity and picked up combat with almost as much ease as he did piloting. He’d mastered Quvari basic training in a few days, breezed through Balmeran grappling, and even picked up a few techniques from Shiro’s own people. It was strange watching a human practice the familiar moves, but strangely proud that a small piece of them carried on.

This was all supposed to be a onetime deal, but the training sessions had continued each day. Shiro didn’t want to think too closely about why he didn’t just stop. Keith was still too short tempered and relied too much on instinct instead of strategy, but that would come with experience. All Keith needed was time.

Which was exactly what Shiro couldn’t give him.

Keith hadn’t mentioned joining the Resistance again, but Shiro could tell the young man hadn’t given up. He was too stubborn and too brave for his own good, just like Shiro had been once upon a time. Helping people was an honorable goal, but the war was bigger than a human from some backwater space station far from the front lines could understand. He wanted desperately to be a hero and to mean something to someone, but Shiro knew that was a lesson Keith had to learn himself.

Still, Shiro had started to enjoy this despite himself. Or maybe it was just Keith.

“C’mon!” Keith danced lightly from foot to foot just out of Shiro’s reach. “Don’t tell me you’re getting tired yet, I’m barely out of breath.”

“Liar.”

“Come closer and say that again.”

Keith was smiling, a wicked little thing full of too much promise and blinding potential. Shiro couldn’t let himself look for too long.

“You’re going to regret that, human.”

He rushed at Keith, hands raised in the attack positions they’d been practicing all afternoon, and Keith moved as gracefully as water like he had every time. He parried Shiro’s attack once, twice, took a step back to counter and - landed on his face.

A vine had come out of the floor to trip him, and it wrapped around his legs, turning him upside down so he hung like a heavy sack. His shirt scrunched up around his chest, falling past his chin. Shiro jabbed him in his squishy belly and laughed. “Now it’s time to rest.”

Keith was red in the face, all the way to the tips of his ears, and Shiro had a moment to worry. Perhaps humans were sensitive to certain lateral shifts? Then Keith blurted out, “How do you  _do_  that?!”

Shiro preened just a little.

“Not everyone uses Balmeran crystals as power sources. My people communicated memories and emotions mentally, the ship was built to respond to that through its quintessence core.” Shiro bent with a grin and poked Keith in the middle of his forehead. “Maybe your human brain just isn’t developed enough for the sensors to pick up.”

Keith snarled and twisted out of Shiro’s touch. He yanked his knife from his boot and slashed at the vine around his ankle which dropped him unceremoniously on his face. Shiro barely had time to laugh before Keith whirled around and knocked the legs out from under him.

“Hey!” Shiro landed hard on his backside and Keith was on him in a moment. They grappled for control until Keith pressed the thin cold blade to Shiro’s throat and they both froze.

“I think I won.” Keith couldn’t keep the smug pride out of his voice. “I wonder how that could have been possible with my underdeveloped human brain.”

“Good question.” Metal fingers closed around Keith’s wrist and twisted until he dropped the knife with a yelp. He fought to grab it before it went spinning across the deck, but even if he was faster, Shiro was stronger and there was no way out of his grip. The world upended as he was flipped over Shiro’s head to land flat on his back with Shiro’s heavy weight pinning him down. He bucked and twisted, writhing to escape.

“This is where you yield.” Shiro rasped, out of breath and trembling. Keith’s hair tickled his cheek, but his grip dug into the flesh of Shiro’s arm. He never knew when to quit. He was warmth and joy and so much that Shiro hadn’t be enable to hold for so long, and part of him wished he could push further, to close that divide with him, to break the monotony of silence that reigned in his mind and the infection’s crushing pressure. Then all at once, Keith froze.

Shiro looked down, openly concerned. Keith had gone red all over again, the very tips of his strange little ears as dark as color that rushed down his chest. He wouldn’t look at Shiro directly.

“Keith…”

“Yield. I yield.” The thief grumbled and started wiggling and squirming away. Shiro gave him one last, completely unnecessary squeeze and flopped on his back, grinning. Victory was sweet when it was hard won.

Keith was trying very hard to look like he wasn’t sulking, or so Shiro thought. He kept looking back at where Shiro was shamelessly starfished across the ground. Shiro refused to regret anything. He was savoring his win. As he scratched the cut of his hip, Keith turned away.

“You’re improving,” Shiro said. It was an easy compliment to give, and Shiro was nothing but sincere. “You’re getting better at guarding your blind spots.”

Keith grunted unhappily and all Shiro could do was laugh, breathless and tired and happy. How long had it been since he’d felt anything as easy as happiness? He rolled over to poke Keith in the side until the human flushed and scowled harder. Shiro took that to be a good sign.

“I still couldn’t beat you.”

“Not yet, but you will.” Shiro had no doubt and was always quick to encourage. “You just need more practice. You might not be as strong as I am, but you’re faster and you’re just as smart. Patience yields focus.”

Keith crossed his arms and huffed, but he couldn’t stop the smile that crept across his face. “I guess that means you’ll have to keep teaching me.”

“For a while.” Shiro sat up with an _oof_ , rubbing his hand through his sweaty hair.  “You should go get cleaned up, I could use a shower too. I’ll make some lunch afterwards.”

Keith hesitated like he wanted to say something more, but thought better of it. He nodded with a parting wave and padded off towards his room. Shiro watched him go and sighed. He was being foolish and sentimental. There were half a dozen habitable worlds and stations they’d passed since they’d left the Mouth. Small trading ports and colonies, but with enough traffic that Keith could return to WSP or book passage to another more populated world. It was just selfishness that he hadn’t made the offer yet. Keith hadn’t mentioned leaving and Shiro-

Shiro wasn’t ready to let him go.

Peace was precious wherever it could be found. It was a lesson Shiro wished he’d never had to learn, and with Keith, it seemed all the sweeter. For once, the ship’s ghosts were silent and there were other voices in the halls.

Shiro thought he could be forgiven for wanting to hold onto it as tightly as possible, because in the end, he knew Keith would leave him to his silence.

 

* * *

 

Keith was sore all over. A good, full-bodied sore that seemed to radiate through his arms and back and legs until he was boneless and satisfied. The weeks of training had done him good, he could feel a new strength in his body that the life of a half-starved thief never gave him. Shiro was always patient with his lessons and Keith was quick enough to pick them up without much trouble. He could tell that learning so quickly seemed to worry Shiro somehow, but there was pride there too and that was all that really mattered. When Shiro looked at him, he felt like he was worth something.

It was a strange feeling. Keith liked it.

He flopped on his bed, still damp from his shower. The fatigue was the same way after an intense flight lesson. He’d always assumed that Shiro was just the better pilot, but if the ship’s finer tuning could be manipulated psychically then Keith was never going to outmatch him. Keith was strangely okay with that. He’d just have to stick to manual controls.

If he couldn’t beat Shiro yet, that just meant he couldn’t leave. There was too much to learn to stop now, he just hoped that argument would be enough to convince Shiro.  
  
It was a sacrifice worth making if he could Shiro like that, his arms straining in his body suit, flushed pink, his ears twitching every time he got to a particularly important part in their lesson - or scored a victory. It was a wonder Keith had learned anything at all.  
  
He groaned, throwing an arm over his face, ashamed and terribly pleased. This was bad. This was so bad. He was being careless again, just like when he’d been too quick to call Galra. If the Unilu pirates hadn’t been around, their reunion could have been a lot more awkward; Shiro still teased him about it, but Keith couldn’t find it in himself to regret anything.   
  
Things had started off rocky while Shiro recovered, the training sessions had led to sharing meals in the small galley. It had been quiet at first, halting awkward conversations that grew just as steadily as the plants at the heart of their ship. When Shiro had offered to add pilot lessons to their training, he jumped at the chance to learn. Spending extra time with Shiro was just a bonus.   
  
Now Keith was hopelessly charmed, and there was nothing he could do. He was supposed to get off at the next stop but he just kept hoping Shiro wouldn’t remember.   
  
There was a knock at his door.  
  
Keith froze.  
  
“One second!”

Shiro rarely visited the crew quarters on the far end of his ship. Keith didn’t know if that was out of respect for his privacy, or if something more serious kept him away, but the fact that Shiro had come to see him meant something big was happening.  
  
Keith threw on a shirt and tripped over himself to get to the door. Shiro was waiting for him, in a soft flowy long-sleeved thing with a deep neckline. From beneath peeked a dark tendril, a sliver of the artwork that spread across Shiro’s skin. Keith wondered when he’d stop being curious about them.   
  
“Hey.” Shiro said, with a smile that split his face in two, and all at once, it seemed like Keith’s worries disappeared. “Are you busy? I wanted to show you something.”  
  
“I don’t know. You know how it is, being a stowaway. There’s just so much to do.” Keith droned. Shiro snorted, nudging him in the side.   
  
“You ass. Come on.”  
  
Then Keith was being pulled towards the bridge. The glass observation deck was a deep tinted blue and misted over with extra shielding. Shiro was more excited than Keith had ever seen him.  
  
“We’re passing a solar flare,” Shiro grinned.

“You’re recharging the solar cells?” Keith didn’t miss a beat. “You gonna let me fly?”

“If you think you can handle it.”

All of his aches were forgotten as he bounded past Shiro to the bridge, the other man close at his heels. He skidded into the cockpit and froze, staring up in wonder. He never got used to the way it felt like stepping out into space, stars below and above him like he was floating out in the void. Now, a star burned so close that Keith had to shield his eyes from its glow. Long tendrils of plasma burst from its surface out into space, deadly radiation and heat reaching out in whirling loops. It was breathtakingly beautiful, he’d never seen anything like it.

“Oh hell yes!” Keith slid into the Captain’s chair and manually brought up the controls. Lights danced under his fingertips, the whole ship responding to his touch as Shiro came to lean against his chair. Pride and anticipation hummed through him in a burst of adrenaline. Shiro trusted him with his ship, trusted his skill, and Keith didn’t want to let him down. It would be even better if he could impress him.

Training seemed to be the only way to reach Shiro. Even after weeks together in a small ship with nowhere to hide, Keith hadn’t been able to get Shiro to open up. The Captain was still a mystery, deftly evading any questions that hit too close to being personal no matter how Keith tried. But when they trained, the walls came down enough to see the person Shiro tried so hard to hide. The weight lifted from him just long enough for Shiro to smile, excited and vulnerable and so unsure if he could be happy. Even if he never said a word about the pain he carried, Keith would have done anything to protect that smile.

It didn’t hurt that it looked so good on him too.

The engines hummed eagerly as Keith whooped and sent the ship spiraling down to ride the waves of energy. He caught the blast with the ships solar sails, racing along the currents of fire and plasma that threatened to sweep them over and consume them. Shiro slipped into the navigator’s chair, pulling up a readout of the ever changing solar flare. Keith didn’t even have to ask him, Shiro was already at his side, working together in tandem.

“Solar cell recharge at 70%!”

Light crashed against the ship’s exterior, painting the view deck in an entire rainbow of color, and if it hadn’t been tinted so dark, they’d have surely been blinded. Keith had never seen anything so amazing. The ship stayed steady beneath his hands, every action so smooth it felt like an extension of him.

“Recharge topped at 80%. That’s good enough for now.” Shiro said, but there was a gleam in his eyes that made Keith hold his breath. He was already so eager to play the game, and Shiro hadn’t even set any rules. “If you can get us in on another wave, we can probably hit full, but that might be too difficult for you.”

“Try and stop me.” Keith snarled, but as he turned back for another run, Shiro was laughing. 

“You’re doing great, just relax.” Shiro said and Keith couldn’t help but preen. Here he was at the helm of an alien starship a thousand light years from his nothing life on the WSP-86. He’d been nothing but some lowlife thief there trying to scratch out a living with no hope for something better, and now he was the pilot, racing along the jets of firey light with a field of stars out there to explore. His body sang with the rush of it and the warm satisfaction of Shiro’s pride.  

The ship arched and rolled so quickly that even the artificial gravity struggled to keep up with the sudden increase of G force before it burst from the solar flare back out into the void of darkness. Keith whooped, pumping his fists in jubilation. “That’s 100%, Shiro. Top efficiency!”

“Whew!” Shiro flopped back into his chair and just enjoyed the feeling. The star reached for them across space, but the little ship was too fast for the plasma eddies and Shiro retracted the solar cells. With everything recharged and the living engine producing quintessence efficiently, they were in great shape for the next few weeks. “Good job, give it a little more time and I think you might even turn out to be a better pilot than I am. Definitely a lot bolder!”

“That’s only because you taught me, Shiro.”

“I don’t know, I think you’re kind of a natural talent.”

Then his eyes went wide, focused on something over Keith’s shoulder, and Keith grip was immediately on the steering wheel before Shiro could scream. “Keith,  _flare_!”

Keith didn’t think, he just turned. The entire ship pitched sideways as a blast of heat and energy burst from under their belly and sent them spinning through the sky. Seat webbing tightened around them like harnesses, while the panel lit up like Christmas lights. Keith was moving as fast as he could, trying to stabilize their ship. There was no one to fall back on now. Shiro couldn’t take the controls. It was all on him, and if they couldn’t slow down then - “GAH!”

The engines burst into life at just the right moment, hard enough to break their momentum. Keith was slammed into his seat, but they were holding steady. They were safe! Keith turned to his right, and Shiro was there, staring at him like he’d never seen anyone quite like him and it felt like his heart was bursting. He didn’t know who made the first move, but they met in the middle, laughing and cheering, caught in a hug that Keith fell into. It felt like his feet weren’t really touching the ground, and when he looked up, Shiro was smiling, his eyes closed, his arms still so strong and steady around Keith’s body. Keith wanted more. He didn’t know how, or if he was allowed to, but he wanted, and he was almost greedy enough to take.

Then something changed.

Shiro’s expression blanked, like a mask had fallen over his features. He pulled away first.

“Are you okay?” Keith’s didn’t shy away from his worry, his eyes automatically flickering to the metal arm as if the Galra tech was the cause. He reached out to touch Shiro, but the other man flinched away, shoulders hunched as he stepped back with muttered apologies.

“It’s fine, it’s nothing. My fault, I should have known-. It doesn’t matter.” He tried to smile and failed, something too vulnerable across his face. Keith turned away, feeling like he was intruding on some private pain he had no right to witness.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so reckless. I’ll be careful next time, you’ll see. I’ll make it up to you.” Keith offered but Shiro clasped his shoulder with a heavy hand, startling Keith into silence.

“You did great, even if you need to work a little bit more on control. We’ll practice again later.”

“Okay.” Keith watched him go, feeling like he’d failed somehow. “Uh, Shiro?”

The other man paused without turning around.

“I know you don’t like talking about things, but you can trust me. I think I’ve proven that, I-I mean, I hope I have. I’ve been here for weeks and you never just  _talk_  to me. Whatever it is, I’m here. Maybe I can help?” He offered, stumbling over his words.

“I don’t need your help.” The answer was clipped, Shiro’s walls slamming back into place as Keith sighed. Every time they made a step forward, something knocked them back. Some unknown pitfall and hidden trap. Keith tried, navigating a friendship when he’d never had one of his own before, and watching himself fumble around more often than not.

He never could figure out what was wrong.

 

* * *

  
  
The days went on. Their lessons continued. Shiro showed up for every meal, ready with a gentle hand when Keith was frustrated, and a sharp elbow when he got sloppy with his guard. He could tell Keith everything he wanted to know about the propulsion power of his ship’s quintessence engines, and he laughed when Keith talked about his adventures on WSP, and his eyes went warm and sad when Keith talked about the children he left behind.  
  
Nothing changed.  
  
Keith didn’t know why that no longer felt like enough.   
  
He’d left Shiro making repairs or communing with tree roots or something. Keith didn’t know and couldn’t say he altogether cared. The mixing of machine and organics was frankly creepy, too much like AIs and the Galra for his taste. It was a good thing no one could tell what powered the ship from the outside, if anyone realized Shiro was tampering with taboo technology, they might destroy the ship all together.

Keith was pacing. Every day, they got closer to Kipo Lle. The inevitability of goodbye hung over Keith like a noose, until he felt it every time he inhaled. So he walked until the ship’s corridors made him claustrophobic. Then he walked some more.

Maybe this was what weighed on Shiro? The ship was beautiful but oppressive in its silence made even worse by the fact Shiro was so close and a million light years away. Keith wondered if he reached out to touch him, if he’d pass right through Shiro, more ghost than man. If he could be better at expressing himself, if only he could find the words, maybe he could have figured out what was wrong, but it was never easy to talk about his feelings so openly.

Instead, all he could do was wait and watch, an awkward observer to a private tragedy. He was  _angry_  at his helplessness, frustration boiling inside of him with no release. Keith never had a real friend before and now he would lose the only one who’d gotten close before they had a chance to even start.

It wasn’t fair. He thought for a brief moment that he might have found his purpose and someone to show him the way. Time was running out and the only thing waiting at the end was the realization that he would be alone again.

Eventually he settled. He practiced the moves Shiro had shown him in the dark night cycle near the engine, the strange flowers blooming in a biolumescent glow as he pushed his body over and over to inscribe the lessons deep into his bones. This defensive posture from the Quvari. A quick acrobatic sidestep from the Antalians. Bits and pieces Shiro had picked up on his travels from a dozen worlds Keith had only heard about in the rare news vids that made it all the way to the WSP. Strange races, ancient cultures, even the promise of meeting them first hand had soured if it meant doing it alone.

_“-errsaa pel-“_

The words were soft enough to be lost to the hum of the engine, but the voice was unfamiliar. That was shocking enough to give Keith pause, straining his ears. He abandoned his training to creep closer. It felt like so long since he’d heard anyone else.

_“Ecsaer Shiro, rpea faeu Kap, iu lessra aaath elrae.”_

It was a language his universal translator couldn’t decipher, from a planet that wasn’t part of the Galactic Coalition. Then there was laughter, careless and easy, and Keith could recognize that no matter what language was spoken.

In the center of the mighty tree that acted as the room’s support column came a faint glow. It was almost outshone by the quintessence that rippled in its sleepy pool, and the engines’ steady whirr was enough to make Keith doubt himself. Yet there was a shallow alcove in the wood, not hidden the way a safe would be, but out of sight enough that this was the first time Keith had noticed it. In its shadow, Keith could just make out the outline of someone else, a familiar broad back and strong shoulders.

Keith knew he should have called out. It was safer for both of them. Shiro wasn’t an enemy you wanted to startle, and it was only polite, but Keith didn’t.  

The voices chatted over each other, excited and happy, breaking out into laughter again. Keith tapped his wrist display, bringing up the translation program and playing with the settings to see if it would help decipher whatever it was that could have made Shiro laugh like that.

“Keith?” The recording cut off suddenly as Shiro leaned back, ears twitching. Keith cursed Shiro’s inhuman hearing and kept his voice even.

“Yeah, sorry. I was just going to grab something to eat, you want anything?”

“No.” A pause. There was something in Shiro’s eyes, a glassiness that made Keith want to press closer. His face was illuminated by golden light, and the places his smile strained seemed all the more brittle. “Thank you. You should get your things together, we’ll arrive at Kipo Lle in about 12 hours. I’m going to go plot our approach.” 

Shiro left before Keith could ask him to stay.

Guilt weighed heavily on him, whatever Shiro had been listening to, it was private and painful. Keith hadn’t meant to intrude, but he could tell he’d ruined something without meaning to. Shiro would never tell him what was wrong and it was impossible to avoid the pitfalls when he was flying blind. He should leave it alone, he knew better than to pry. Shiro preferred his privacy and his solitude and Keith had no right to ask more. Just because he’d told his story didn’t mean that Shiro had to do the same.

That didn’t stop him from sidling up to the control panel and giving it a quick scan with his wrist display, curiosity winning out over caution. There were recordings stored in the electronics, not encrypted but his device couldn’t read their format. He glanced around nervously in case Shiro had looped back and uploaded a data key into the terminal. If it worked like standard tech, he’d be able to access the files from his wrist display later. That was, unless the technology was too alien for the program to adapt to.

He slunk off to the privacy of his room where Shiro wouldn’t overhear and keyed in his command, running the files remotely through his device. 

“Retrieve recording.”

The file was undamaged, but the only thing that played was the hush of static.


	4. Chapter 4

Kipo Lle appeared on the horizon just before the twelve-hour mark, and Shiro was easing them into landing just after it. It was a textbook descent, without ruffles or fuss, and over far too soon for Keith’s liking. He almost wished that something had gone wrong, engine failure or a freak accident. Then they’d be stranded somewhere, too distracted by repairing the ship to do anything else, like worry about unsaid words and unwanted promises. Except he didn’t, because Kipo Lle was disgusting.

In every direction, as far as his eyes could see, was garbage. Mountains and mountains of garbage, gooey and soft like desert sands in some places and as solid as stone in others. A grey-green mist wafted out from the mess, staining the sky in the same color. Perhaps in the past, it had been part of a busy trade route or maybe it was the consequence of outdated galactic order. It didn’t matter. Everything felt distinctly slimy.

Keith didn’t know if it was rock or metal or more garbage under all that trash. He had no way of finding out, and frankly he didn’t care. He could practically smell the planet through the ship’s walls, and even if he’d never been particularly squeamish, he really wanted to turn his nose up now. Or cut it off altogether, whatever worked.

“I don’t know if humans can breathe the air here,” Shiro said sadly, looking dubiously out across the landscape.

Keith didn’t think anyone should be able to breathe here, but he kept that thought to himself.

“It’s fine.” He said wrinkling his nose. “Not toxic at least.” That didn’t mean the smell didn’t linger like an almost tangible film on his skin or coat the back of his tongue. Keith swallowed a gag and followed Shiro out into the crowded spaceport. It couldn’t possibly be worse out there, he’d manage to get used to it.

It was worse.

Shiro watched him with amused concern as Keith wrapped a scrap of cloth around his face to cut down on the stench, eyes watering. He struggled to hold on to his dignity and his lunch as Shiro just shook his head.

“I have a location on my contact. Hopefully, this is just an easy drop. Let’s try to avoid getting arrested or blowing up space pirates this time, okay?”

It took a few seconds before Keith realized Shiro was teasing and hid his smile behind his makeshift mask. “I guess if we  _have_ to keep a low profile this time.”

Not a word was spoken about getting Keith a ride off planet. Suddenly it wasn’t so difficult to bear the stench. He followed Shiro through the winding streets, more just worn paths through the heaps of wreckage and scrap than actual walkways. The residents of Kipo Lle watched him warily and he returned the favor when he wasn’t focusing on his guide. Shiro had said he wasn’t going to just leave him behind again, but a small part of him worried uncomfortably about how easy it would be to get lost in a maze like this “accidentally.” Logic rarely tamed fear.

Shiro strode ahead like he knew where they were going, following the coordinates programmed into his wrist display. It led them into the gnarled heart of the garbage city where people carved out homes in junked pieces of broken starships and hovels crafted from old machinery. They were disproportionately Quvari, their deep blue skin bright against the dull grey metal. It wasn’t surprising, there were always Quvari squatting in whatever space station or slum would take them in, and only they could feel comfortable in a place with so much ruined technology. If rumors were right, they even experimented in things like artificial intelligence, which was why the Galra were drawn to their homeworld, starting the mass exodus of refugees that flooded the other Galactic Coalition worlds.

Keith couldn’t help but suppress a shudder. No one deserved the Galra, but they’d just been asking for trouble.

“Keith.” Shiro had gotten ahead of him. When he realized that, something in his stomach lurched so quickly, Keith could feel the burn in the back of his throat, but the spacer was waiting, his brows furrowed with concern. Waiting  _for Keith_. Just like that, it was easier to breathe. Figuratively. Keith was never going back to Kipo Lle.

Keith hurried after him, and Shiro’s expression softened. He gestured for the human to follow as he disappeared into one of the dilapidated structures that served as buildings. Keith thought it looked like it could have once been the cockpit of a ship. He never got the chance to figure it out. The moment he stepped through the archway, a jolt of energy surged through his body and he was thrown into the ceiling.

_THUD._

Keith was _never_ ever going back to Kipo Lle.

“Keith!”

Shiro had a blaster in one hand, while his right glowed dangerously. The door they’d used to enter had been blocked off by a heavy metal plate, and standing on the cockpit’s deconstructed control panel was a Quvari holding a machine gun that was almost bigger than her. Thick goggles obscured most of her face, while flyaway brown hair framed her head like the rays of a sun. The most important detail Keith noticed was that her finger was already on the trigger.

“He wasn’t part of the deal.”

Keith tried to move, but a mess of wires and metal were strapped around his chest and throat. Shiro looked ready to take the entire building down.

“Put him down.” Shiro growled out a warning. The young girl seemed completely unimpressed as she pushed her goggles up higher and kept her gun trained on Keith without wavering.

“I was only told to expect one, no one said anything about the human.” She gestured upwards with her weapon but made no move to release her squirming captive. “You might want to tell him to stop struggling to much or he might accidentally electrocute himself.”

Keith froze.

“This is the last time I tell you to put him down.” Shiro said through bared teeth, but the girl rolled her eyes and set down her gun. She pulled a small remote from her pocket and hit a button, loosening the wires and sending Keith crashing to the floor. He picked himself up in a huff, dropping into a defensive stance beside Shiro who kept his weapon on the young Quvari.

“You’re being really dramatic.” She scrambled up a stack of boxes and plopped down on top of it, eye level with Shiro. She pointed with an accusing finger. “I’ve heard about you, you know better than to bring some rando on a mission.”

“Are you serious?!” Keith turned to Shiro incredulously. “This is the person we’re here to meet? This crazy little  _kid_  living in a junk heap?”

“This  _kid_  strung you up before you had a chance to react and could have jolted you with 12,000 volts before you’d ever have made it down.” She drawled smugly. “Where did you find this guy?”

Shiro finally holstered his weapon and put a reassuring hand on Keith’s shoulder, more to hold him back than anything. Keith automatically relaxed under the touch, still glaring at the Quvari who gave him a cheeky grin before sticking out her tongue.

“She’s at least two hundred of your years old and if she’s my contact, she’s Resistance too. She clearly knows what she’s doing.”

“No surprise you’re the one with directive access.” The Quvari grumbled, and Keith tensed defensively. He refused to say anything, even if disappointment twisted in his gut. It would’ve been so easy for Shiro to legitimize his position. He could worry about that when he wasn’t in front of the ankle-biter.

“Let’s get this over with.” Shiro said, in a tone meant to put an end to all arguments before any could really begin. He’d activated his wrist display, and Keith quietly mourned that he wouldn’t feel so lost if Shiro just told him what he was doing. At least it would be over soon. “Channel secure. Ready to receive the cipher.”

“Yeah, we’re going to have a problem with that.”

Or not.

Keith couldn’t scowl harder if he tried. The Quvari’s expression had finally wilted, but nowhere near enough for what she was implying. Beside him, Shiro tensed, just enough to set him on edge.

“Why not.” Shiro didn’t sound like he was asking a question.  

“It’s not with me. I sent them to a contact for safe-keeping, and he disappeared.” She shrugged, looking so remarkably unfazed that Keith could’ve shaken her. The room fell silent, so much so that Keith could hear the shuffle of footsteps outside their hideaway. “But he’s around here somewhere. I need you to help me find him.”

“What the hell were you thinking? We don’t let those codes out of our sight.” Shiro snapped, spitting venom. Keith’s eyes widened. He’d never heard Shiro so angry.

“And we don’t have bring your pet to work days either.”

The air was electrified with tension. For the first time, Keith saw the edge behind the Quvari’s easy grin.

“I was told that this mission was marked urgent. If someone else has the codes, then tell us how we can find them so we can get what we need and leave.” Shiro said through his teeth, trying to sound more calm than he felt, but it was taking its toll. He’d always been good at rolling with his punches, but never with people who refused to take their work seriously.

The Quvari frowned at him for a second before bounding off her perch to the wall of the room. She pressed a few hidden buttons in the junk and a view screen flickered to life providing an overlay of the city against the wall.

“There’s been disappearances all over the city for weeks now, I built this map to help track them since no one else was helping.” She waved her hand at the display that shifted with her motions. Red dots bloomed along the city, marking each case. “I know people leave here all the time, it’s dangerous and mostly transient, but these were people who just vanished without anyone knowing where they went. Rover and I were looking into what was happening.”

“Rover?” Keith asked.

“My best friend.” The girl said shortly. “We’re convinced that we’ve located the source, there’s always these strange energy readings immediately after someone’s gone.” She zoomed in on a part of the map at the edge of town. “I think there’s a slaver camp set up here. They’ve been taking people and shipping them off world. I tried to get into site, but I needed help and without Rover… look, we just get in, grab my friend before they sell him somewhere, and get out. Then you get your mission data. Should be quick and easy!”

“How long has he been missing?”

“A week, maybe a little longer.”

Something flickered behind Shiro’s eyes and he pressed his lips into a thin line. “And if he’s already gone?”

There was an edge to Shiro’s tone, a threat but directed at who, Keith couldn’t be sure. The girl met his eyes, unsmiling now, her jaw gritted but head held high. “I won’t let that happen.”

Something passed between them, a frisson that Keith didn’t entirely understand. Then Shiro was turning away, looking back at the screens. “We’re entering through the north. It’s got the most cover. We’ll hit them hard and fast. Think that’ll work…?”

“Pidge. You can call me Pidge.” The Quvari said. “And that’ll work just fine.”

 

* * *

 

In the end, Shiro’s caution was unwarranted. Kipo Lle’s endless supply of garbage made for a thousand different hiding places, basically everywhere they could imagine. It was a security nightmare. Pidge’s way of dealing with that was to strap the largest gun she could find on her back. Shiro sighed, but he wasn’t being subtle about his blasters either.

Pidge tapped a few commands into her wrist display, bringing up a 3-dimensional scan of the structure. What had once been part of an old Antalian cargo ship had been gutted and repurposed, melted almost directly into the piles of garbage around it. It didn’t look heavily fortified or even occupied at all, but Pidge pointed at the image.

“This is all I can see, there’s something in there blocking my scans so I can’t get a clear picture of what’s going on inside. Whatever it is sucks up massive amounts of energy, way more than is normal. That’s how I found this place.”

“But it means we’re going in blind.” Keith said, squinting at the structure to see if there was any movement inside. The entire place seemed abandoned, but he had to admit, the pipsqueak did have a point.

“Yeah, but even if you’re dead weight, Champion’s pretty good.” She jerked her thumb at Shiro who was studying the building thoughtfully.

“Champion?” Keith blinked.

“Code name, genius. At least that’s who I assume he is, not a whole lot of people walking around with an infection like that without being one of the baddies. The guy’s a legend.”

Keith’s eyes flickered to Shiro, but the other man ignored the exchange, his attention focused on their target, giving away nothing to indicate he’d overheard them. “We’re going to breach from the top, it looks like we can make an access point here, to get to the cargo bay.” Shiro pointed to Pidge’s display. “There’s no landing pad around here, so if they’re holding captives, they’d need a secondary location to transport them off planet. That might mean we could get lucky and this is just a holding cell. If we find captives, we take as many as we can.”

“Site surveillance hasn’t turned up any traffic over the past few days. If they’re moving people, it’s through somewhere underground.” Pidge nodded.

“Great.” Shiro frowned, but he didn’t look surprised. “Watch your six and shoot anything that moves.”

They crept through the trash heap, slowly making their way to the complex. Neither Pidge nor Shiro had given any indication that they’d ever met before this day, but they’d been in their line of work long enough that they fell into position like a well-oiled machine. The Quvari took the lead, moving like a specter through the shadows. Shiro took up the rear, watching for any sign that they were being followed. Once or twice, Keith thought he felt his eyes on him, but when he turned, Shiro was always focused elsewhere. He refused to fall behind. There was more than his pride on the line now, and Keith would not let his inexperience hold them back.

Pidge couched behind a small outcropping of mangled engines and gestured forward. Without missing a beat, Shiro slunk forward and pulled off his glove. The metal infection glowed almost too brightly to look at and sheered through the hull of the wrecked ship with ease, leaving them a wide entrance. The girl gave a soft whistle, impressed.

“That thing seems like it would be handy.” She murmured as Shiro pulled on his glove.

“Maintenance and upkeep are a bitch.” He tossed back casually and Keith realized Shiro was joking again. Even here, crouched outside a slaver’s hovel without knowing what kind of danger lurked inside, he was still trying to put people at ease. It was a skill Keith didn’t understand, even if he could see its value. Maybe that was why it was so easy for people to just fall in line behind Shiro.

As soon as they were inside, Pidge did a quick scan. “Okay, we’re inside of the sensor shield, but it’s still picking up only one life sign and… there’s something wrong with it.” She tapped the controls. “Whatever the interference is, it’s still messing with my scanners, so I can’t tell how accurate this is.”

Shiro nodded and gestured for Keith to take point. His heart swelled as he gripped his blade and moved into position by the doorway, peering down dim corridors for enemies. The ship had tipped when it had been junked and what used to be the ceiling of the hallway now served as its floor. They swept through what used to be main engineering, any salvageable engine parts long picked over by scavengers.

“It’s strange.” Shiro’s ears were on a continuous swivel as they cleared out an empty hydroponics bay. “There’s no sign of habitation here. I’d have thought if they were keeping people, there’d be a camp at least. Food, beds, something.”

No one ever just sold  _one_  slave.

“Here!” Pidge’s excited whisper was so loud that both Keith and Shiro winced. She pointed down towards the end of the hall. “That door, I’m getting actual energy signatures right behind it.”

Their pace quickened, Pidge all but sprinting to the very end. Shiro swore under his breath, and pressed a hand against his head. He gave a soft groan as Keith turned towards him, worriedly.

“Pidge, wait-!” Shiro called out, but it was too late.

Pidge had already hooked up her wrist display to the doorway, typing furiously as she bypassed the security system, the glow of her holograms reflecting off her glasses. Shiro raced to her side with a half-formed plea on his lips, but suddenly the display flashed green, and she brightened like someone had turned on a light behind her smile. The door opened with a well-oiled whoosh that had no place in the dilapidated structure. It didn’t matter. Nothing could matter anymore.

They’d walked into a nightmare.

Shiro grabbed Keith and Pidge and yanked them back so hard they yelped, landing hard on the floor behind him. His arm blazed and an angry, animalistic snarl rumbling in his chest.

“ _Galra!”_

Keith scrambled to his feet, heart thudding in fear as he held himself ready for the attack, but nothing moved. The room stretched out in front of them, lit by soft blinking lights and monitors from strange machines like some kind of medical facility. At least, that’s what Keith thought before he saw the people strapped to the beds. Tubes and wires fed into their bodies as they stared with unseeing yellow eyes up at the ceiling. Fluids flowed into a port implanted into their spines, processing flesh into something different, breaking down organic materials to recreate something stronger. Synthetic. Machine.

“Rover!” Pidge cried out and broke from behind Shiro, rushing over to one of the beds where a young Quvari boy lay strapped in his technological cocoon. His blue skin was a dull grey, verging on violet, and he didn’t react when she touched the side of his face.

Keith looked up at Shiro, but the spacer had gone statue-still. A sheen of sweat streaked his temples and his eyes seemed just as blank and unseeing as the captives. 

Pidge never turned back to look at them. She was talking in a gentle hush, refusing to pull away, even at the cost of her speed. With one hand, she tried to override the control panel by his bed, and Keith didn’t know how she could stand it when just looking at him made him ill.

“Shiro.” He started, uncertain, but incapable of leaving things the way they were. Something in the back of his head whispered that he was doing this all wrong, questions of code names and mission protocol fading away before he could properly form them. It wasn’t like Keith to hesitate. When he made a decision, he dove into it head-first, too quickly to second-guess anything, but nothing was as chilling as the way Shiro stared through him like he couldn’t see him, his features gone pale with the horror of a dead man’s stare.

The gun in his hand wavered with a fine tremor, his breathing too quick. “Shiro, it’s okay.” Gentle hands wrapped around Shiro’s wrist and he flinched away from Keith’s touch, turning a blind panicked gaze towards him. “It’s just me, it’s okay. Come back.”

Recognition finally filtered behind the dark eyes and Shiro jerked into action, twisting away from Keith like he’d been stung. “Get away from him!” he bellowed, herding Pidge away from the machines. “They’re Galra, we need to destroy this place and get out.”

“No, I’m not leaving him! Get out of the way!” Pidge fought like a wild cat, forcing her way out of Shiro’s grip until she was back to Rover’s side. “We can save him.” The machines started beeping as she yanked them from Rover’s body. Shiro couldn’t stop her fast enough and the boy gave a gasping scream as he bolted upright from the bed.

She threw her arms around him with a sob, hugging him tightly. “Rover! I was so worried. I knew something was wrong, I just knew it. I promised I’d always come find you. We’re gonna get you out of this, just hang on.”

Rover was trembling like a leaf, his eyes squeezed shut as he fought to catch his breath. He was exhausted and painfully weak, but he grabbed onto his best friend with everything he had, little as it was. They’d never lived a life of luxury, but he worried Pidge now. He’d lost weight, the lines of his skull gaunt and pronounced against his brow. “Pidge. Pidge stop…”

There was an unfamiliar rasp to his voice, something sharp and uneven, like two ill-fitting cogs trying to force a turn. Pidge didn’t care. Pidge refused to see any of it. Her professional veneer had cracked, giving way to something vulnerable and young, and Keith had to look away. It felt like he was intruding.

“Don’t worry.” She said. “I’ll get us out of here. This won’t- you’ll be okay. Can you stand?”

“It’s so loud.” The words came out in a strangled moan, thick with pain and exhaustion. Rover didn’t seem to have heard her at all.

“He’s Galra.” Shiro said, his weapon trained on the young Quvari boy. “He’s been changed, you need to get away from him.”

“You’re wrong!” Pidge snapped, smoothing her hands through her best friend’s hair. She shielded Rover with his body, ready to stand between him and the barrel of Shiro’s gun. It wasn’t immediately enough to make Shiro withdraw. “Look at him, there’s no infection. We can still help him.” There was defiance in her voice, but it didn’t cover the fear as she tipped Rover’s head up. “You’re okay, right? Talk to me, Rover, prove it to them.”

“Pidge. What are they all saying?” Rover just leaned against his friend, his eyes hollow. “There’s too many talking, I can’t understand. It’s nice though, they’re good.”

“What’s happening to him?” Pidge’s voice broke around the question, and this time when Shiro approached, she let him.

“He’s infected, he’s already developed a receiver. It’s how drones obey orders from Galra command. He’s been changed from the inside, I…I’m sorry. We have to destroy this place.”

Keith shivered, his eyes moving from Rover to the other dozen or so bodies bound to the machines. They were all  _Galra_ , their mechanical infections hidden beneath their skin. If he’d seen them out of the street, Keith never would have known. He’d never have even assumed. How many people had he met that were just machines beneath their flesh. And what about the ones running this facility? They’d have to return eventually with more victims to infect.

“Everything’s all here. We can reverse the process. They’re not done, they’ve barely even started,” Pidge said, words tumbling together in one long breath, but a strangled whimper cut her off. She looked down at Rover and watched as he clutched his head, his sweaty bangs falling across his face.

“They’re good.” Rover repeated, in the same strangled voice. He dragged his nails through his hair, eyes squeezed shut. “They’re good. They’re good.”

When he removed his hands, they came away bloody. Pidge bit back something that sounded too much like a sob.

“Pidge, go back outside. Clear the perimeter. Take Keith, he’ll watch your back.” Shiro ordered softly. “I’ll finish things here.”

Pidge didn’t respond immediately, too much written across her face, and this was too much. Keith couldn’t be here. Keith couldn’t  _want_ to be here. Not when Pidge could have the most powerful weapon in the room and still look so hopeless, not when it meant watching a boy he never knew go insane.

Pidge snarled, reaching into her pocket and throwing a thin metal chip at Shiro. He caught it out of thin air like he’d been expecting it. “You want your cipher? Take it and go.  _Just go_!”

“Katie.” They all turned towards Rover when he spoke, startled silent. He looked like a man on his deathbed. Keith had seen too many sick and starving people on WSP-86, too many people crawling towards their deaths, but no one like this. The Galra was horrid. The torture that must have happened in this room was even worse, but Rover was going to die. Keith understood that now. Rover was going to die, and it shouldn’t have felt this underwhelming. Keith didn’t want it to feel this underwhelming. “Please go.”

“No, I won’t leave you.” Tears gathered in her eyes and Pidge shoved her goggles back to swipe at them before they could fall.

Shiro tucked it away and lowered his weapon with a sigh. Pain flashed across his face as another memory threatened to drag him back under. He carefully coaxed her away with more tenderness than Keith had ever seen. It was jarring in this hell, compassion in a place built to strip it away and replace it with unfeeling metal. Shiro knelt to bring himself down to Pidge’s eye line.

“If you want to help him, then we need to end this. He’s already gone, don’t let them take what’s left of him.”

“We can save him.” She said, voice shaking even as she knew it was impossible.

“We can make sure no one hurts him again, and we can destroy this place so that they can’t use it to take any more people. But I need your help. I need you to focus, Pidge.” Shiro said as Pidge jerked out of his arms and threw herself at the machines. She typed furiously, pulling up three-dimensional displays to hack into the Galra controls with a painful determination.

“I can set everything to overload.” She brushed another tear angrily from her cheek. She poured everything into rewriting the Galra tech, all of her loss and her heartbreak and the cosmic unfairness. She tore the tech apart, creating a weapon to wipe this ugly stain off the face of this awful planet. She did it for Rover. “They were sloppy, they didn’t think anyone would find them. This whole place is gonna be a fucking crater when I’m done with it.”

“What about them?” Keith gestured to the other captives. “What about the people out there, shouldn’t we warn everyone?”

“There’s three of us against who knows how many Galra. They could have been infecting people for years, we could be dealing with an army out there. We’re not ready to fight them.” The answer was cold and methodical and painfully logical. Keith’s mouth fell open, chilled to the bone.

Shiro turned his back so he didn’t have to see the look of betrayal on Keith’s face. “Pidge, how much longer?”

“I’m done. Two minutes to get clear once the system starts running.”

Keith almost didn’t recognize her voice, choked with emotion that none of them had any right to see. Rover watched her with unblinking eyes, sinking heavily into his examination table. Pidge met his eyes just once. She would not let herself look away, but Keith could see how much she wanted to. “Can we get to your ship before then?”

Two minutes was dangerous enough. A lot could happen in that time. If the Galra came back and started shooting, no one was going to get this out alive. Pidge tried working it over in her head again and again, but there was no telling how far the blast radius would reach. Shiro’s hesitation told her enough.

“I’ll do it.” Rover was smiling, a distant, unfocused expression, made macabre as blood dripped down his cheek. “Get out of here.”

“Rover, no. You’re coming with us.”

“I’m not getting out of this one, am I?” He asked, and Pidge couldn’t answer him. He struggled to prop himself up on his seat, but it didn’t look like he had full control of his arms. She wouldn’t help him. She knew she should have, but she couldn’t. He fell back with a tired sigh, humiliated, but it was softened with acceptance. He could accept what his best friend couldn’t. He swallowed thickly, swiping clumsily at his eyes. “Show me how.”

“Rover NO!”

She didn’t mean to scream. Keith could see it on the face, her surprise and her embarrassment, but Rover turned on his side, watching her with that same, unflinching stare.

“Katie.”

If this was any sort of fight, Pidge would win. She was more stubborn, more resourceful, more  _bloodthirsty_. Yet she wasn’t who Rover was fighting. Rover’s enemies were time, and the sick fever beneath his skin. They were untouchable, and they’d already won. For the first time since they’d met, for the first time in decades, Pidge surrendered first.

“H-here, you just touch these two wires together. Give them a chance to run. Hold out as long as you can.” Pidge said, dragging the console with her, but as soon as she could, she shook and wrapped her arms around her best friend again. “I’m sorry I got you into this.” She whispered against his neck. “I shouldn’t ever have dragged you into my mess.”

Rover’s smile was fragile and almost real, a ghost of her friend living inside the machine that had replaced his heart. “I’m not sorry I came with you.”

She crumbled, arms tightening around him. “If you’re doing this, I’m staying. We do this together.”

“You have still have to save the galaxy. Finish the mission. You have to go.” He gave her a weak push, trying to force her away from the control panel. “Go, Pidge.”

“No!” She fought as Shiro picked her up, failing against him as he gave Rover a nod of thanks, a shared moment between two damned men that no one else could understand. “Let me go back! Rover,  _Rover!”_

“C’mon.” Shiro ordered as Keith jumped to attention, racing off behind his captain without looking back. It felt like he’d left part of his heart behind, the Resistance was supposed to save people instead of running. It could have been him, how easy would it have been for the Galra to have found him before that man had pulled him from his hiding place? What if he’d been infected before the Resistance had come? What if he’d still been aware and watched his would-be saviors turn away and leave him behind.

What if he couldn’t have been saved?

The last thing they heard before they left the room was Rover’s quiet sigh.

“Guess, guess you’ll have to see Xlor without me.”

They burst from the ship out into the street, counting the seconds with every step. Suddenly the ground rumbled beneath their feet. The mountains of scrap and garbage shook, heavy chunks of metal and stone crashing down around them.

All around them, people started looking up, in various stages of surprise and interest. They didn’t pay them any heed. They didn’t stop running until the ship’s walls closed behind them. Pidge had gone limp in Shiro’s arms, her eyes unfocused and distant.

“Keith, get us out of here.” Shiro ordered, like they’d done this a thousand times before, like Keith had any experience beyond their theoretical lessons. For one dangerous moment, everything teetered, balanced on a tight rope between panic and madness. Then Keith nodded, and started towards the bridge.

“Shiro?” He began, but the spacer wasn’t looking at him. Pidge had regrouped, and a new fire burned in her eyes.

“We need to talk.” The Quvari said, cutting off their discussion, calling Shiro’s attention to her. Keith didn’t stick around to listen.

As they took off, the ground trembled, and over the horizon, Keith saw thick plumes of smoke rise into the air.

 

* * *

 

The ship was quiet.

It had never been a particularly big ship, and with another person on board, it should have felt claustrophobic. Keith wouldn’t know. He rarely left his room. Whenever he did, it seemed like everyone else was avoiding him. If not for the food set out at every meal, he’d have wondered if Shiro’d ejected himself into outer space. The hours dragged on, but Kipo Lle left its mark.

He didn’t realize Pidge had even stayed, until while coming back from the mess, he came across the Quvari walking into the room directly across from him. They stopped in the middle of the hallway, staring at one another.

She broke the silence first.

“Artgrak in your throat?”

“No, I-” Keith wasn’t sure what to say. He’d never been good at offering comfort, fumbling over the more delicate parts of social interactions, even when he had the best intentions. Pidge had just lost someone, there wasn’t anything he could say that would lessen the pain and any mistake could just make it worse. “Are you okay?”

“No.” Pidge fixed him with a hard stare. “And I’ve decided I’m coming with you and Champion. I’m going to make every last one of those Galra bastards pay for what they did to Rover.” There was sorrow beneath the anger and Keith murmured an awkward apology.

“Does Shiro know?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t get a say in this, I’ve already made up my mind. We both have our missions.” She shook her head, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes despite her furious determinations not to let them fall. “I’m the one who asked Rover to come with me. I didn’t want to do this alone, I was supposed to be the one watching out for him.”

“What happened wasn’t your fault.” Keith said as gently as he could, but she brushed his concern aside.

“Yes it is, and I’ll make sure they regret what they did. I’ll make sure they  _remember_ him. Besides, there’s no one better to go Galra hunting with than Champion.”

Keith glanced back towards the bridge where Shiro had barricaded himself. “Why do you call him that?”

“Because it’s true. He’s been in the Resistance so long, he’s almost a legend. No one has been able to figure out how he manages to keep from turning into a Galra. They say he can even sense them. Nobody has any idea what he is or where he comes from, but he’s the one who saved an entire city from a Galra Destroyer during the siege of Refarjin that lasted seven whole weeks! He found the Galra assassin that almost killed the leader of the Balmerans, he single handedly infiltrated a dozen Galra Harvesters and blew them up from the inside. He’s a hero.”

“Is any of that really true?” Keith asked with a frown.

Pidge just shrugged. “I don’t know, but he’s lived long enough that he’s got to be good at it, right?”

“Leaving all those people behind doesn’t seem like a really heroic thing to do.” Keith said sourly, hunching his shoulders with unhappiness. “We didn’t try to save any of them, we didn’t even wake them up. There were innocent people on that planet and we left them behind.”

Pidge fixed him with a long, hard look. When Keith noticed, he had to turn away. “You’ve never had to gun down on a Galra drone begging you to rescue them. You’ve never seen them use your allies’ faces against you. They were already dead.”

“Even Rover?”

Pidge bristled, but she wouldn’t budge, her mouth pressed into a hard line. Keith knew he’d gone too far, knew that he’d hurt her and if she wanted to, she could hurt him right back. He held his breath, expecting the worse, but there was no reprimand forthcoming, no denial she tried to make. “Even Rover.”

Keith realized then that he’d wanted her to fight back. It would’ve made all this easier, even for a little while.

“You can’t believe that.” He asked, softer than he meant to. The gravity of everything they’d survived weighed down on his shoulders, bending his posture and threatening to break his spine. He’d ran from it for so long. He was begging her and he didn’t even realize it. Begging to hear that they hadn’t made the right choice. He didn’t want to believe that this was the path heroes followed.

There are no heroes in this war anymore.

“I can’t afford not to.” Pidge moved a step forward and took his hand in hers, every move gentle and precise. Keith shouldn’t have been surprised by the touch, yet part of him still was, and the relief that came with it felt unearned. Her eyes were glassy with tears, but her voice never wavered. “There is no cure for infection. There’s no way to save the Galra.”

Cold, hard truths. That was all this war had any place for, and Keith hated it.

“Are you going to kill Shiro next?”

He meant it as an insult, lashing out with what little he had, and immediately regretting it. There was no answer Pidge could give that he wanted to hear, and he never felt so young.

“If I have to. And he knows that.”

The ship was silent, but Pidge was looking at a point beyond Keith’s shoulder. Keith couldn’t help but remember Shiro’s advice when this had all started. It felt like years ago when he’d said ‘I’ll hear you.’ Wherever those silvery vines of quintessence pulsed, he would hear them.

It was in that moment that Keith realized he didn’t want this. He didn’t want any of this.

“I’m tired, I think I’m going to turn in for the night.” It was a weak excuse, but Pidge didn’t press him and Keith didn’t want to admit how much it felt like he was fleeing. He left the young Quvari to poke at the strange alien technology of the ship like she could distract herself from her grief. Who was Keith to stop her?

He closed the door to his small cabin and threw himself down on his bunk with a sigh. This whole thing was a mess. He’d gone with Shiro because he had to, he’d stayed for the adventure of it all. Seeing the stars, helping people in need, a romantic and hopeful story that he’d played out in his head over and over again during the long lonely nights on WSP. It didn’t hurt that he’d been swept up with some handsome, brave Resistance fighter with a mysterious and no doubt tragic past. Reality just wasn’t living up to the hype.

If he asked, Shiro would drop him off at the nearest habitable port and that would be the end. He could walk away and pretend that he’d never seen the horrors of that room where innocent people were turned into monstrous machines. Keith knew he could just disappear in the fringe systems, find someplace too small for the Galra to ever bother with, and live some forgettable life where nothing ever happened.

And in the meantime, people would get hurt and the Galra would advance because there weren’t enough people to stop them.

His wrist display beeped and Keith jumped, not expecting the noise. With a huff of irritation, he taped out a command to see what was going on. One unread file flickered on the screen, the others still fighting with the translation program.

_–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission?—_

Keith sat up suddenly, glancing around like he thought Shiro might be spying on him. Whatever the secretive Captain was hiding, this might be the key. He pressed play.

_[Begin Playback]_

“Captain’s Log: Day 1. We’ve officially left Koryu and have headed out on the first recorded deep space mission. The crew is celebrating the achievement with all the solemnity and dignity of the occasion.” A middle-aged woman’s face took up the screen, her calico ears tipped in grey. Behind her was a loud hoot, a wail, and then a crash. She signed and the camera moved with her.

“C’mon, the Captain even said we could drink!” A younger man said, throwing his arm around another crewmate and giving him an affectionate shake. “Stop being so shy, Takashi.”

Keith held his breath when he picked out the familiar face made all the less familiar with its careless grin. Shiro-, Takashi-, whatever he called himself looked younger, unscarred and without the tuft of white in his hair. He poked the man holding him captive until he finally escaped.

“She didn’t say get sloshed, Ryou.”

“The ships on autopilot right now, Takashi. I’m pretty sure no one’s going to need you to pilot an asteroid field sober any time soon.”

“Hey you two, behave.” The calico Captain scolded, but her sharp tone held a note of mocking. “This is why you don’t send brothers on the same mission, they can’t ever behave.”

Takashi about-faced and saluted so quickly, he nearly knocked himself over, and his brother burst out laughing. The Captain had to hide a smile that she couldn’t quite disguise fast enough, but as her subordinate’s ears twitched with badly disguised embarrassment, she let him off the hook. “At ease, pilot. Dr. Shirogane, it would do you some good to listen to your little brother. I want the Freedom in one piece when we reach Avoty.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Ryou saluted, and he had the decency to look contrite, even with too much the drink pinking his features.

“Dismissed.” She said, but paused, considering. “And have Shirodore send up a bottle of our finest.”

The Captain watched them go, and it was only after the bridge doors slid shut that she let herself smile fully, almost giddy with disbelief. “We made it. We really made it,” she said, voice gone soft like she’d forgotten the camera was still filming.

And behind her stretched an endless abyss of stars.

_[End Playback]_

 


	5. Chapter 5

The glassberries had finally ripened. Shiro had lost track of the time, it was hard to follow the seasons of a dead world. The plants didn’t seem to care that they were the last of their kind of that they were so far away from where they’d come from. They kept to a cycle they’d maintained for thousands of years, and their reliability made Shiro smile. It was nice to know that some things hadn’t changed.

The fruits clustered from the vines along the ceiling as clear as drops of water, and he plucked one free to pop it into his mouth. It burst into juice, sweet and tart, and Shiro grabbed an empty bowl from the galley so he could fill it to the brim. He paused when he saw the young Quvari holed up by one of the power relays. She’d pried off the hatch and had plugged her wrist display directly into the ships systems, running holographic displays as she studied the flow of energy.

“You’re not taking my ship apart, are you?” He asked gently and sat beside her, holding out the bowl like an offering.

“Hm?” Pidge blinked at him from behind her goggles like she hadn’t noticed him before now. “Sorry, I was seeing how your power distribution works. I’ve never seen an external quintessence engine. How do you regulate how much quintessence you draw from the plants? What happens if your plants don’t make it? Is there a more efficient collection when the plants are blooming? Aren’t you worried about mixing organic and synthetic like this?”

Shiro chuckled and held out the bowl. “I’m not an engineer, I just drive the thing. Try one?”

He’d barely finished speaking when a wave of dizziness washed through him, chased by a prickle of discomfort that rushed up his spine to bite into the junction where his neck met his skull. His hand slipped, just as Pidge reached for the bowl, sliding off mark by an inch. Not enough that Pidge missed entirely. Not enough for her to notice. Shiro was embarrassingly relieved that her attention was mostly focused on the innards of his ship. His grip tightened on the bowl, just enough to convince himself that he wasn’t going to drop it. He didn’t want to know how much those bright eyes noticed.

“Weird.” She decided, and grabbed a second berry to plop into her mouth.

That was good enough for now.

“Get used to it. Empyrea’s a ways off, and the food isn’t getting any better... This might set a snag in your timeline.” Shiro said, and it would have been an apology if either of them had had any choice in the matter. The cipher had contained other classified information, but all Shiro was willing to share was the location of their destination.

Pidge didn’t hold it against him.  

“It’s better than what I had going on.” She said. “I used to work out of Ignis. After it went dark, I got shuffled over to Moxro, but you know how it is. It’s not like anyone can afford to play welcome committee. People fall through the cracks.” Her smile turned grim, but her tone never changed. Casual like they were discussing the weather.

Shiro had never known the Ignis Station existed until it was reported as a casualty. Then he only knew it by the number of deaths the Resistance could confirm. They fought an enemy that could absorb their minds. Survival meant going to great lengths to keep their information safe. Unfortunately, that sometimes made it difficult to trust themselves.  

“It doesn’t hurt to have another set of guns around.” Shiro said.

“Most of the time.” They shared a glance that said too much. Both threat and commiseration in a single breath. Even if Shiro had never met her, he knew her. Too many people shared Pidge’s story. The Galra left behind too many broken families, and the Resistance attracted more than most. Neither of them could afford regret, but neither of them celebrated it.

Kipo Lle hadn’t been a surprise in any way that mattered. The Galra reserved their loudest weapons for planets that could fight back, planets that mattered to them. But resources were resources, and if they had been willing to deploy a quiet conversion center to Kipo Lle, there was no telling what else they’d been willing to spare. Staying behind would have ended badly.

Shiro had seen too much of the war to be surprised, but he still thought about it. He still questioned, still reconsidered even if the past was beyond his reach. He didn’t want to think about who he would be when he no longer needed to. He didn’t know if he would survive that long. His head began to throb.

“Has he asked yet?” Pidge’s voice softened, and Shiro thought there was more she wanted to say. They hadn’t talked about that before either. They still didn’t need to.

“Not yet. But soon.” Shiro decided.

Once he asked, Shiro would find Keith the easiest way out he could. He could give him that much. Running wasn’t new. The war had been going on for as long as anyone could remember. People were born and died never knowing anything else, perhaps sooner than they would have in a different life but without facing battle or subjugation. Ignorance survived better on a fringe colony, and so did peace. It was only a matter of time.

“You don’t want him to go.”

She was too damn perceptive and Shiro’s ears flicked in surprise. “What makes you say that?”

Pidge shrugged one shoulder, looking back at her display as if she wasn’t hurting too. “You haven’t thrown him off the ship yet. If you wanted him to go, you wouldn’t give him the choice to stay.”

That wasn’t wrong, but Shiro had done his best not to admit it. Keith was a strange creature, fascinating and skilled but so painfully naïve. He’d been able to coax laughter out of Shiro for the first time in months, maybe years, filling up the empty hallways of the ship with sound and voices. It was more than just the impressive way he learned every lessons Shiro threw at him, it was the focus and delight on his face when he figured out how a new combat move worked and sent Shiro flipping flat on his back, or when he was allowed to pilot the ship with all of its power at his fingertips.

More than anything, Keith made him feel like he wasn’t alone.

Trying to keep himself at arms length wasn’t working if even Pidge could see so easily through his attempts. Shiro had gotten used to Keith’s presence and didn’t want to let him go. It was rooted in selfishness and loneliness, his desire to have a friend and a partner again after so long. But it wasn’t what was best for Keith. Shiro sighed and rubbed his head, the ache spreading down his neck from stress.

“It doesn’t matter what I want.”

“Rover didn’t want to leave either.” Pidge said softly. “I’m the one who brought him into all of this, but he insisted that he was going to leave me alone. After I lost my family, I…” She swallowed thickly, cleared her throat. “I knew how dangerous it was, but I let him stay anyways. He wasn’t a soldier. He wasn’t built for this.” Her lower lip trembled like she was about to crumble and she swiped at her eyes, fixing her goggles so no one could see if the tears fell. “Yours might be too stupid to leave too.”

“I know.” Shiro said. Anything else would be a lie. _Someday, you’ll be able to remember him without it hurting._ He almost added, but Shiro could no longer remember if that advice was meant to comfort or punish.

“What’s Xlor?” He asked instead, subtly turning away to give Pidge a chance to put herself back together. She did, with almost enviable speed.

“Xlordae en Ral.” Pidge replied slowly. “Our third moon. Third largest, I mean. On Escherra en Haari. Our real home. It was the first moon we ever _made,_ from dust and light and nothing else. Rover and I were both born long after the Galra invasion. We never got to see any of it. They say that you could see the oceans from up there, and it glistened like diamonds. We always... We always thought we’d have the chance some day. We were going to see how the great builders of the past did it all."

And in that moment, Shiro hated himself, because all he could think about was how young she seemed, when that wasn’t fair. It was possible that she and Rover had been fighting this war for as long as he had, but it was a horrible promise to make. The Galra never gave up a world after they controlled it. What was lost could never be reclaimed.

Yet he hung his head, in honor of memory. It was all they had left. "We are one with the Light.”

Pidge’s lower lip trembled, but she held her head high as she completed the old prayer. “May we shine.”

On the opposite end of the galley, the doors opened with a gentle whoosh. They both looked up to see Keith, and whatever determination had started the human’s step faltered. He did a double-take, clearly not expecting both of them, and Shiro smiled slowly, holding up a bowl. “Glassberry?”

“Thanks.” Keith jumped at the distraction, even if he didn’t look twice at the fruit. “Are you busy? I couldn’t find you. I thought we could talk.”

Pidge snorted, then turned back to her wrist display, muttering under her breath the entire time. Shiro’s ears twitched. If he tried, he’d be able to make out more of what she was saying, but he doubted any of it was particularly flattering.

“Sure.” Shiro said anyway. He took a bunch of berries in one hand and left the bowl with the Quvari. She grunted something that could have been a thanks, but while she was trying to fold herself into the console, Shiro wondered if she’d have noticed him leaving it empty.

He got to his feet, and immediately regretted it. He must have moved too quickly because his head spun. He paused, shook himself once, twice. When he looked up, Keith was in front of him, a hand outstretched, fingers still sticky with berry juice, and Shiro knew in that instant that he didn’t belong on this ship. The Freedom had been nothing but a curse since her maiden voyage. He couldn’t let Keith go down with it.

“Shiro are you-”

He smiled through Keith’s question, brushing him off before he could ask. “Come on. The med bay’s closest. We can talk there.”

There was no point in drawing this out.

It was a short walk, but Keith didn’t speak a word. Shiro could feel the tension radiating off of the young human. He’d put him out of his misery as quickly as possible. The med bay lit up the moment they walked in. The quintessence used here was at its purest, like at the storage pool in the engine room. Shiro indulged himself and he knew it, stepping back and watching Keith take everything it. He seemed endlessly fascinated by the bubble biomes that covered the walls, and the cuttings and seedlings they held that would never see their true home.

Then Keith dropped heavily into a medic’s chair with a tired sigh. Shiro took the one across from him. This could be the last time they spoke this freely. If he told himself this was goodbye before Keith could say the words, it wouldn’t hurt as much.

“I just wanted to ask you something.” The human started, scrubbing a hand over his face. Shiro nodded, gesturing for him to continue, but Keith didn’t speak immediately, his shoulders hunched, eyes locked on the floor.

“Keith?” Shiro prompted. Keith just shook his head.

“Why do you do this?”

“Keith, what are you doing?” Shiro asked, and try as he might, a thread of unhappy resignation twisted into his tone. “I’m not going to convince you to stay.”

“I’m not asking you to.” The way Keith looked at him made his heart twist. Shiro dug his nails into his palm.

“I’ll find someplace safer, it’ll be better than the Mouth-”

“Answer the question, Shiro.” Keith took a ragged breath and Shiro realized the other man was struggling just as much as he was. Something was raging behind those startling eyes. Doubt and worries, he recognized, but there was more that Keith kept tightly leashed.

Shiro dragged a hand through his damp, sweaty hair, feeling almost feverish as his stomach roiled. How to answer this question? He’d asked himself the same thing often enough and the answer was never clear. The violent lights in his arm pulsed gently in sync with his heartbeat, taking him apart at the cellular level and rebuilding him into a monster. Maybe it was too late, he was already a monster in Keith’s eyes.

“I lost everything to the Galra.” The words were gratingly harsh and he cleared his throat, weighing each memory before speaking. It would have all been so much easier if humans could link their thoughts together but their minds were so closed off. “I lost _everything_. I should have died with the rest of them, but I didn’t.” He held up his hand with a soft laugh, bitterness in his voice. “It would have been easier if I did but I…” Shiro faltered as Keith leaned forward.

“You fight to get back at them for what they did?”

“No.” The admission felt almost like a relief, a confession to a sympathetic ear whispered where no one else could overhear his sin. Once the Resistance realized he wasn’t a Galra spy and that they could use his infection as an asset, they’d welcomed him into their ranks. They didn’t question his motives, they seemed clear enough. Revenge was easy and as long and they didn’t ask questions. No one ever wanted to get too close since no one knew who was going to make it back. “I didn’t want this to happen to anyone else.”

Keith looked surprise, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. “How can you still believe that after what we saw? We couldn’t save any of them, we failed.”

“Sometimes we fail. But sometimes we get there early enough, we hold the line just long enough for people to get out. It doesn’t always work, Keith, this war is ugly and it makes you ugly too. It ruins every single thing it touches and it always ends the same way. We die out there. The only way you manage to stay sane is to build a wall between the things you see and the things you have to do, and whatever scraps are left of you. Otherwise you can’t ever get up in the morning.” He flattened his ears against his head, too tired and hot to feel angry.

“So what’s the point?” Keith asked in a small voice.

“The point is that for as long as I stand here, then that’s one day longer someone in the fringe or on some distant colony gets to live in peace. The longer that _I_ fight, the longer that they don’t have to. I can’t save everyone and that is a burden I wish you never had to carry, but I can save some of them. There are people out there who wouldn’t be alive if I had done the easy thing and given up. It has to be enough.” Shiro’s voice broke and he cleared his throat again, managing the ghost of a smile. “I’m sorry none of this was what you thought it was going to be.”

_I’m sorry I wasn’t either._

“Can we still win?”

Shiro swallowed thickly. This wasn’t supposed to be Keith’s battle, but that was a question he’d once asked himself every day. As the years went by, he stopped. The answer was never what he wanted to hear. What he saw on the battlefield gave him an insight he’d never wanted. Far too often, hope could only live alongside ignorance.

“I don’t know,” he confessed, and Keith clasped his hands between his knees, his eyes closed, as if in prayer. When he spoke, Shiro almost didn’t hear him.

“If I run, can I still make it?”

In the silence that spread between them, Shiro felt his heart breaking, a thread of selfish want burning beneath his ribs and spreading across his skin. He told himself it was relief.

“Yeah.” He swallowed thickly. He would not lie to Keith, not about this. “I can’t guarantee it, but the war hasn’t hit everywhere. The farther away from the Central Planets you are, the better your chances. There might be places like Kipo Lle out where it’s quiet, but the odds are low. If you’re lucky, you’ll never see a Galra cruiser for as long as you live.”

No one said anything for a long time. The weight of their words hung over Shiro like a shroud. He’d told himself again and again that he was ready for goodbye, but now that it was here, he couldn’t think straight. Keith was just another person in a long line of stories that ended too soon, and Shiro hated himself for convincing himself that he was different.

Keith exhaled slowly. “You know, for as long as I can remember, I’ve only ever seen a Balmeran ship once? Have you ever?” Shiro nodded, unsure what point Keith was trying to make. “Delta Class. I had to look that up to figure out what it was. It was refueling on WSP-86, or lost, I dunno. Never saw the crew, never heard an announcement. No one was talking about it but at the same time, everyone was because no one would bring it up. An actual Galactic Coalition cruiser on our doorstep, how could we not talk about it?”

Keith hadn’t moved. He talked into his fist like he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted Shiro to hear, voice edging towards too soft, but Shiro didn’t dare interrupt. “We thought it would make a difference, somehow, like it meant someone knew WSP existed. Maybe it was being chased or maybe the Galra were a week away, no one knew, but everyone was sort of waiting. Waiting for something to happen… But nothing ever did. There are still people who mention it passing through.”

Keith worried his lip, seemingly unaware of it. A shadow passed over his face, something quiet and unhappy, and Shiro didn’t know how to make it go away. “I left people behind, and I thought they were important to me, but I don’t know their names. They knew my name. I think it was just because they had less people to remember, but I knew some of them. I knew Olava, Nuuin, and Zekor. Zekor disappeared weeks before you showed up. I dropped by one day, and ze was gone. Just gone. I didn’t think it was strange at all… I realized it last night, when I thought about going back. I still don’t know their names, and that made me angry. I thought, someone has to care. Someone has to remember us. Someone has to fight for us.”

“Keith.” Shiro started, torn in two. He knew what he wanted more, but Keith’s coffin would never be worth it. “They’re not your responsibility. You only have one life, and, and you could do so much with it.”

“On some backwater planet that doesn’t even get a news cycle?” The human asked, finally straightening his position, eyes narrowed into slits. “The way I see it, I can die fighting or I can die running. If I’m going to be another casualty, I want to make it count.”

 _Stubborn ass._ Shiro couldn’t stop the smile that broke through his mask of control. Keith was determined to find his place as a hero even if it meant he would have to rewrite the universe himself. Shiro wasn’t sure if Keith was foolish or brave, probably both. He was going to need that determination to make it through. If this was what Keith wanted to do, dangerous as it was, then Shiro was going to make sure that he always had someone to watch his back and help him make it through.

“So you’re staying?” Shiro stood up and brushed himself off as Keith lept up to his feet. He gave Keith one last chance, one final out. He already knew the answer.

“I’m staying.” He said, shoulders square and back straight, like he expected Shiro to try and talk him out of it. “I can do this.”

“Yes, you can.” Shiro’s answer seemed to startle Keith, but he smiled tentatively. This young man had thrown a wrench into Shiro’s plans, but maybe it just meant he had to long on a little bit longer. He wasn’t done yet, there was still someone who needed him, someone he could count on. It had been a long time since he could have called anyone a friend and the thought felt right. He reached out to clasp Keith on the shoulder, but it felt like the floor lurched under his feet and he stumbled, overwhelmed by a wave of vertigo.

“Shiro!” Small pride turned quickly to panic as Keith caught him, staggering under his weight. The touch of Keith’s hands against his bare arm was electric, sending a wash of fire racing through Shiro’s veins with an intensity that left him gasping. It burned with an insistent need, sweat prickling along his skin, and twisting into something lower. Demanding. Irresistible. Shiro looked down at Keith with his eyes blown dark and felt an overwhelming, shameless hunger. Realization came crashing down.

_No! Not now!_

“Shiro? What is it, what’s wrong? I-is it, is it the infection?”

Keith sounded so worried and it took all of Shiro’s self-control to pull himself away. He’d been so careless not to see the warning signs. Trapped in a small ship and letting himself get close to someone else over the last few weeks must have triggered this, but how? Keith was a human of all things, this shouldn’t be possible.

Shiro managed a shaky laugh, trying to hide the fine trembling in his hands. “I’m fine, it’s nothing. Just probably picked up something from our last stop, that place wasn’t exactly up to code. It’s not the infection, I’ll be fine. I just need to rest up for a few days.”

The ship pitched beneath Shiro’s feet, but this time it wasn’t just his spinning head and the two hit the med bay counter hard. “Uh, guys?” Pidge’s voice came over the comm system. “We have a problem.”

 

* * *

 

The ship rocked sideways, alarms blaring loud enough to pierce through Shiro’s aching head as they finally made it to the bridge. A wicked looking battleship loomed outside of their glass dome, sleek and mean, obviously modified within an inch of its life with stolen and illegal parts.

“Pirates.” Shiro spat, wiping the stinging sweat from his eyes as he yanked on the controls and sent their ship spiraling away from the laser fire. “Unilu bastards! They’ve probably been tracking us since the Mouth.”

“Where are the weapons controls?!” Pidge yelped, desperately trying to search through the ship’s systems.

“This wasn’t ever meant to be a warship, our weapons aren’t strong enough to cut through that armor.”

“But we’re faster than they are right? We can outrun them!” Keith’s hands flew furiously across the controls so fast that it seemed like a blur. Shiro shook his head, trying to focus. He felt like he’d been flayed, feeling every beat of his heart in his oversensitive skin. ‘ _This couldn’t happen now, not yet!’_ he snarled at himself.

The distraction cost him and he barely caught Keith’s warning yell in time. He sent the Freedom diving, barely missing the edge of the pirate’s tractor beam. The pull from the beam was enough to send them careening wildly off course as they all clung to the control panels to keep from rolling across the floor.

Pidge yelped through her first introduction to safety webbing, but Keith didn’t miss a beat, shifting thrusters to ease them to a stop. Then Shiro regained control, his eyes narrowed into slits, ears folding against his head and Keith swore he heard him hiss. He couldn’t let that distract him.

“There!” He pointed to the far end of the control panel where an asteroid belt orbited through their path, the dust cloud floating around it intercepted by deep blues. “We can lose them in that!”

Shiro said something under his breath, something soft and vicious that Keith’s translator couldn’t pick up, but a cold sweat had broke out across his brow. His lips were pressed into a thin line, nostrils flared and cheeks splotchy with color. He gunned the ship for everything it had, desperately trying to weave in and out of laser fire. They escaped by the skin of their teeth every time.

“It’s too far. We’ll never make it.” Shiro rasped, and something about his voice put Keith on edge. It took him too long to realize it was the way his syllables slurred together, like he was drugged. A fresh wave of panic swelled in Keith’s chest, building up higher and higher until he was sure it would overwhelm him. But his mind had never been more clear.

“Shiro I can do it,” he whispered, but across the room, Pidge still turned to stare at them. “Give me the controls.”

The starscape blurred as Shiro tried to get his traitorous body to obey. He flushed with fever and with shame. Now wasn’t the time for pride as alarms blared, warning about the impending charge of the Unilu’s energy canons. He had to make a decision.

“Keith, get us into that asteroid field!”

“Got it.” The ship resisted Keith’s control, he could feel the systems fighting but Shiro had trained him well. He could do this, he knew how to fly and he hoped that he could be just reckless enough that pirates wouldn’t follow. Either that, or this would be a short flight into the side of a really large rock. He glanced over at Shiro whose eyes were staring at the enemy ship, unfocused and glassy.

Pidge’s shriek snapped his eyes forward. “Pay attention!” She cried as they careened too close to one of the tumbling asteroids. The ship shuddered as he leaned heavily against the controls, pulling up at the last second. “If you kill me, I will find you and I will haunt you.”

“We’re not dying, just let me fly.” Keith growled. He sent the ship spiraling between two huge asteroids with barely any room to spare between them and the hull. Behind them, the pirate’s laser canon blasted into space and hitting one of the rocks that exploded into shrapnel. Keith caught the shockwave and turned the ship into the blast, riding it out like the edge of a solar flare. 

For a moment, everyone held their breath, the entire ship flying on momentum. 

Then Keith gunned their engines. He used the boost from the flare to push up their speed and sail through the dense field, weaving through each obstacle and leaving the pirate ship behind.

He didn’t stop until they were clear through the other side, slamming in coordinates into the nav computer to calculate their next hyperdrive jump. Shiro had already programmed their final destination into the computer and it pulled up the launch vector that wouldn’t send them careening into a star or straight into a black hole. It wasn’t until the lights from the stars started to streak and melt into hyperspace that Keith finally slumped back into his seat, exhausted and elated.

“I am going to update everything on this ship.” Pidge said. It sounded like a threat, but she was smiling, a hand to her chest, right above the mesh work of her safety harness. To Keith’s left, Shiro let out a strangled whoop, something that could’ve been a cheer at a different time.

“That was a hell of a flight path.” Shiro said, letting out a noise that sounded like a laugh and a groan all at once. Keith stole a glance, but then he couldn’t look away. The spacer wore a satisfied little smile, just for him, and it made something twist in the center of his belly. “What nut job taught you how to fly?”

Keith grinned, the last of his adrenaline still working its way through his system. He didn’t want to seem arrogant, but a kernel of pride burned in his chest, warm enough to make him feel lightheaded. He doubled his efforts to keep from smiling too much. “Yeah, he didn’t know what he was doing either.”

Pidge snickered, but it sounded like she was laughing with him not at him. They’d did it! _He’d did it._ He’d proven himself in a pinch. He might not have had the experience Pidge or Shiro did, but Keith knew he’d just shown them that he could pull his own weight and more. It was a good feeling. It was a shame he didn’t last. Because Shiro was slumped in his seat, and he wasn’t moving.

 

* * *

 

_–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission—_

_[Begin Playback]_

Shiro sat in front of the camera looking distinctly uncomfortable as he tugged on the jacket of his uniform, ears twitching. “Are you sure that I need to do this, ma’am?”

“Mmhm.” The Captain’s voice came from off screen. “We’re recording these for posterity, the crew needs to participate as well. Please state your name and rank.”

Shiro sighed and said a few short sounds in a language the translator couldn’t understand, but the Captain’s voice stopped him. “We’re doing this verbally, pilot. We want to make sure the records are available for any non-Koryu interested in our history.”

“Ah, yes ma’am.” Shiro nodded sharply and tried again. “I’m Shirogane Takashi, Pilot First Class of the KLM Freedom on her first voyage into deep space. This is our first long range exploration mission since making first contact with alien species. We are a research vessel studying uncharted space and establishing new first contact with any unknown species within the-” He faltered for a moment, trying to come up with the strange word. “The Galactic Coalition.”

“Can you describe your duties, Pilot?”

“Yes, ma’am. We have a crew of five on the Freedom. Captain Hiratoshi Hakura, First Mate Shirodore Yune, our bioengineer and tech expert. He’s responsible for maintaining our quintessence engine. There’s Ambassador Naruhtito Airi who is our first contact expert, and Doctor Shirogane Ryou, the medical officer. It’s my job as pilot to make sure that everybody makes it through this mission and back in one piece.” Shiro gave a proud smile, glancing over at the unseen Captain. “Anything else you’d like me to add?”

“What made you want to join this crew, pilot?”

Shiro’s grin widened, making him look so young and excited. “I wanted to go farther than anyone ever has. I wanted to be the first one to see what’s out there, I’ve been dreaming about this forever. When the opportunity came up to work with the Captain Hiratoshi, it was such an honor. I never thought all that work would pay off.” Shiro stopped and grimaced. “Sorry, ma’am.”

The Captain just laughed. “Relax Takashi, it’s fine. Let me just say it’s been an honor to fly with the Garrison’s best pilot at the helm. You didn’t get this post by accident.”

“Really?” Ryou dropped into frame, slinging an arm around his brother to cause maximum embarrassment. “I always thought you must have bribed someone.” He flicked Takashi’s ear, earning an indignant yelp.

“If anyone got this post by accident, it’s you!” Takashi snorted.

“Doctor Ryou, I’m glad you could join our mandatory crew recordings that will be available to every single citizen on Koryu when we return.” The Captain drawled and both Shirogane brothers straightened immediately, sporting a guilty look each and completely unaware that his brother was wearing its twin. “Why don’t you give us an update on some of the unique discoveries we’ve already logged in the medical lab?”

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.”

The transmission dissolved into static.

_[End Playback]_


	6. Chapter 6

Keith paced back and forth in the hallway, pausing outside of Shiro’s door with his hand raised to knock before stepping away and pacing again. Shiro hadn’t let them bring him to the med bay, insisting that he would do better in his own quarters. All he needed was rest. Keith didn’t believe a word he’d said, but Shiro didn’t let them argue, so all Keith could do was pace and wish he was brave enough to actually knock. Even Pidge had gotten bored watching him after a while and had turned in for the night.

He kept his anxious watch, letting the hours tick by. The lights around him dimmed as this part of the ship slipped into its night mode. Tiny flowers of a red so deep it almost hurt his eyes bloomed in the semi-darkness, their bioluminescence casting a soft glow down the hall. Keith stopped to watch. Even after all these weeks, he hadn’t seen all the marvels hidden in this ship. Even if melding organic with synthetic was taboo enough to make him nervous, Keith couldn’t deny that it was beautiful.

He paused outside of Shiro’s door again, hand raised, almost, _almost,_ able to knock. With a sigh, he let his hand drop to his side and nearly jumped out of his skin when the door slid open with a quiet hiss.

Then Keith found himself staring for an entirely different reason.

Shiro was shirtless, his well-toned muscles gleaming in the dim light with a thin shine of sweat like he’d been working out. Keith couldn’t help but follow the hard lines of Shiro’s body down to his narrow hips, soft black pants barely clinging to him. His scars overlapped and bled together, whispering of countless battles and just as many close calls, but it was the tattoos that mesmerized Keith. They followed the curves of his body, each one a masterpiece of intricate, delicate ink. He almost recognized some of the shapes, like a planet with multiple moons on his arm or what looked like a stylized version of the ship across his stomach.  

It wasn’t until Shiro’s laughter jerked him out of his shock that Keith realized how blatant he’d been and he flushed furiously. “I was worried about you!”

“I know, I could hear you.” Shiro twitched his ears and Keith silently cursed. Something about Shiro seemed off, edgy like he was in the middle of taking a step with his eyes closed. Now that Keith could look without staring, he noticed the fevered blush to Shiro’s skin and the way each breath came too fast and too shallow.

“I just want to help you.”

It wasn’t much of a defense, but Shiro let out a pained groan at the offer that raised Keith’s every nerve.

“You don’t know what you’re saying.” Shiro warned, but he inched closer, hands reaching out in an aborted gesture, only to fold in on himself, unsure. He hadn’t looked away, those dark eyes bright with a new heat, and Keith… Keith wasn’t stupid. Keith knew what those looks meant, knew why it was suddenly so hard to swallow, but that was a private fantasy, reserved for quiet lonely nights in his bunk that Shiro was never supposed to know.  
  
But Shiro was here, standing in all his glory and licking his lips with an absent consideration, and Keith followed the sliver of his pink tongue as it disappeared into his mouth.

Keith squeezed his shoulder, and Shiro went still beside him, frozen in place until Keith tried to pull away. Shiro caught his hand in his, unflinching metal cruel against soft human skin but his grip was so gentle, Keith could have laughed. He guided Keith higher, to touch against the curve of his cheek, and he turned into it, lips ghosting against Keith’s suddenly uneven pulse.  
  
“Keith you should go. I don’t wanna hurt you.” Shiro spoke with a voice rough like sandpaper, cautious as if the offer hurt to make. Keith wasn’t listening, distracted by the way Shiro’s ears flitted and twitched, and he just wanted to see how they felt. He couldn’t help but touch, tenderly stroking his fingers along their length. The reaction was instantaneous.  
  
Shiro shuddered, a full-bodied thing that started with a whimper and ended as he curled into Keith’s space, nosing against his hair and panting in his ear. “I wanted this for so long.”

“I always thought I was in the way.” Keith huffed a laugh, not really believing what was happening. He wrapped his arms around Shiro’s neck and slipped his hands up into the damp, dark hair. Shiro’s breath caught as he pressed a kiss against Keith’s neck. “I didn’t think you wanted me here at all.”

“It’s been too long since I’ve had a friend, I’ve forgotten how. I’m sorry.” Shiro pulled back just enough to look at him, curling his fingers gently around Keith’s jaw with a want so clear it ached between them. He was close enough to kiss, barely enough space between them to fit a breath of air, but he held himself back the same way he always did. Hesitating, doubting himself, Keith could see the war raging behind his eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“This, all of this.” Shiro took a deep breath to steady his jangling nerves, but he wasn’t strong enough to pull himself away from Keith’s body when his own was touch starved and trembling. “My people have always faced hardship, we’ve developed ways to, uh…to help increase our population when we’re stressed and isolated and near a viable-” He cleared his throat. “A companion. I should have been more careful around you, nothing about the way I feel is your fault. This is my fault, I’m so sorry.”

It was the look that struck deeper than any of Shiro’s words. Black eyes watched Keith with a raw intensity and a hunger that spoke of barely restrained power, his body so close that Keith could feel the heat radiating from his skin. In that moment, Keith knew that Shiro wanted him. Needed him. Desired _him_. And Keith knew that if he asked, Shiro would swallow it all down and pull away without hesitation or argument. The choice was his and he made it.

“Tell me what I can do.”

Serious and solemn, Keith was ready to fight to the death if it meant keeping Shiro safe. Then the spacer gave him a lopsided grin, wincing like he did when Keith landed the ship faster than he’d meant.

“If I said me, would that ruin the mood?”

Keith laughed, burying his face in his hands, and wheezed, “Oh god you’re terrible.”

But Shiro was grinning, and Keith was already moving. Shiro caught him before he could get too far, crashing into a kiss pushed by rocket fuel and tasted like stardust. Too many teeth and bumped noses, but they were both laughing, clinging to each other with smiles so wide, their faces hurt. It wasn’t enough to stop them. Nothing could.

“Again,” Keith demanded, dragging his teeth across his friend’s lower lip in a filthy kiss, and suddenly his feet weren’t touching the ground. Shiro’s arms were strong, thick and steady, pressed against his thighs and his back, and Keith wrapped his legs around him, desperate to hold on.  

“ _Oh.”_

It was like Keith weighed nothing at all, and Keith didn’t know how good that felt until right now.

“I thought you could use a hand.” Shiro explained, beaming so shamelessly that Keith tugged on his ear just to hear him whine out something that sounded a lot like Keith’s name. Keith swore he’d drag that sound out of Shiro again, even if it took the whole night. Then he was kissing him, kissing him like nothing else mattered, until his lungs screamed, and all he could taste was his lover’s tongue, and Shiro trembled beneath him.

“Keith,” Shiro moaned, wet still clinging to his red _red_ mouth. “Keith I need…” The words were slurred and heated, and everything kicked into hyperdrive and they’d just taken off. Shiro pressed him into the corridor, a wall of sculpted heat that burned all the brighter as cool metal pressed against the dips of Keith's spine. Shiro was glassy eyed and panting, and Keith could only think about how tight Shiro’s control had been until he’d been willing to unleash it. “I’d take you right here if you’d let me. On the floor. On your back. Just tell me you want it.”

 _You._ Keith thought. _I want you._

Keith tipped his head back with a sigh and Shiro closed his mouth against Keith’s racing pulse. There was just the hint of teeth against his skin, slightly sharper than a human’s. He’d never noticed, never really had a reason to until the edges caught his lip and dragged teasingly across his neck. He knotted his hands into Shiro’s hair and yanked back, earning a snarl from the other man. “I want this.”

Whatever shreds of control in Shiro seemed to snap and he hoisted Keith higher like the human weighed nothing, his body fitting so perfectly between Keith’s thighs. An animalistic growl rumbled in his chest as he pinned Keith’s arms to the wall, gentle but too strong to escape. “You’re beautiful.”

Keith flushed, unused to compliments and lighting from within with pleasure. Shiro always did know exactly what to say to make him feel powerful and capable, the only trouble was learning what to do with that much power. Right now, it made him feel almost drunk and giddy, drowning in the feel of Shiro rubbing against him, hard through the thin material of his pants. He was caught by a dangerous predator lost in some kind of primal instinct, and yet Keith knew down to his very core that Shiro would never hurt him.

“Come on!” He gasped his demand, and Shiro was eager to obey. The human’s legs wrapped tightly around his hips, and Shiro pulled him into the Captain’s cabin like it was his lair. Keith barely had time to look around before he found himself flat on his back in the soft bed with Shiro pressing him down into the mattress. He wiggled, yanking his shirt up over his head gracelessly and tossed it somewhere to find later before stretching back against the bed to put his own lithe body on display.

Shiro hesitated only a moment as his metal hand curled against Keith’s waist, but set shame aside in his need to touch. He bent to kiss the cut of Keith’s hip, slowly and methodically worshiping each inch of exposed skin. Goosebumps raced down Keith’s body, impatiently demanding more and never wanting it to stop.

“I want to see all of you.” He looked up at Keith from low on his belly, mouth slicked an obscene red. Keith had no idea how he was going to make it through the night.

“Show me what you like?” Shiro asked so sweetly, pressing a kiss into the dark whorl of hair that dipped beneath Keith’s pants. Shiro was pretty. Keith wasn’t sure he’d ever thought it before, but he thought it now, with the way Shiro’s tongue sunk into the dip of his belly button and his teeth grazed his flushed skin. The muscles in his back seemed to ripple with every movement, the crisp dark lines of his tattoos standing out in stark contrast to the scars that cut through them, a tapestry that Keith wanted to follow with his mouth. He strained up to nuzzle at Keith’s chest, kissing the spot beneath his ribs before working his way back down. He wouldn’t stop touching him, running his hands up and down Keith’s thighs, the fabric of his pants bunching across his legs. “Do you have a…?”

It took Keith a second to realize Shiro was actually waiting for an answer. “A what?”

“You know.” Shiro’s nose wrinkled, his entire face scrunched up as he flushed all over again. It kind of just made Keith nervous.

“What do I know?”

Shiro gave a soft frustrated growl, fingers plucking at the hem of Keith’s pants. It was hard to think with thousands of years of primal instinct in the way. Somehow, he would have thought they’d evolved to be better at it. He made a hand gesture and Keith’s eyes widened.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know, you tell me!”

Keith blinked in confusion before shocked understanding made him wheeze. “How many do you think I have!?”

“I’ve never seen your species naked before, I just want to know what I’m working with.” Shiro huffed, twisting between embarrassment and grim _unflinching_ determination. He unfastened Keith’s pants and yanked them down his hips, shoulders squared like a man ready to face his death.

“Whatever it’s like, we’ll work it out.”

“Shiro wait! One, the answer is one! Oh god, how many do _you_ have?” Keith yelped, but Shiro silenced him with a kiss, pushing him back down into the bed. He ran his hands along the sensitive skin between his thighs, eyes narrowing as he took in the new territory spread out before him, and Keith kind of wanted to die. Then Shiro wrapped his calloused hand around Keith’s cock, and he stopped thinking for a while. He squeezed just enough that Keith bucked against his palm and beamed his most winning smile.

“This I can figure out.” Shiro said wickedly as Keith choked. He stroked Keith with sure hands, learning every sensitive inch of skin and making note where Keith’s body shuddered in response or a soft groan stole from his lips.

“Shiro,” Keith cried out, shamefully breathless, and the syllables of his name elongated and tangled together, like Shiro had never heard him before. It sent shivers down his spine, as Keith bucked and twisted, grip tight around Shiro’s bicep.

“I want you inside me.” Shiro whispered, nuzzling against his partner’s skin, peppering kisses along his thigh, all the way down to the back of his knee. “I’m so wet Keith please.”

The effect was immediate, and something like smug satisfaction settled over Shiro’s bones as the human’s eyes went wide, his breath coming to an abrupt and unmistakable halt. It was a moment before Keith exhaled slowly, pulling himself into a sitting position, his legs spread whorishly, and Shiro decided he was going to take advantage of all of that. Shiro moved to kneel in front of him, letting Keith’s hands stroking down his back until they settled low on his hips, where his pants had slipped down.

Keith groaned, his eyes fell shut as he squeezed Shiro through his pants, burying his face between the slopes of his pecs. The taste of skin and sweat spurred him on, and he let himself play, biting down until his mate whined at him, his hands moving to Keith’s shoulders. It felt like they were running out of time, but Keith didn’t know how he’d be able to manage when he wanted to do everything at once. “Can I, Shiro?” he slurred. “Let me see.”

Shiro’s only answer was to lean back, and Keith slid the soft fabric lower, past the jut off his pelvis until Shiro could kick them off completely. He touched slowly at first, gaining confidence as Shiro shuddered for him, mewling in open pleasure. His hand fit around the girth of Shiro’s cock (just the one, thank god!), over the softened skin of his knot and along the gentle ridges of his shaft. Then lower, to squeeze his balls, massaging them in his palm and over his taint, wringing soft sweet sounds from Shiro as the spacer clenched down on air, far too eager for his own good.

Shiro felt so empty, so hungry, but he let Keith touch and feel him, showed him where Shiro’s thighs were tacky with his own slick, his heat growing more and more insistent.

“Here?” Keith asked, but he was already working his fingers along the line of Shiro’s rim, spreading him open so easily, like they’d already been fucking for hours, and Shiro _sobbed_. “Tell me again, Shiro. How much you want this.”

“Keith I swear to every god if you don’t do something I will throw you off this ship.”

He’d never heard anything like the broken way Shiro called his name, it sent shivers of want down his body so strong that he shook. Shiro’s eyes were blown black with want, but fixed on his face like he was a drowning man reaching out for the last lifeline. Keith didn’t think he’d ever seen anything quite so beautiful in his life.

Shiro was too impatient to wait. He forced Keith back down, climbing into his lap, and wrapped Keith’s hands around his own cock to help guide him. Keith could’ve come just like that, and he didn’t care how long he lived, he was never going to forget what Shiro looked like.

Shiro teased the tip against his hole, his hand over Keith’s, before he slowly sank down, spearing himself open with a deep groan. The muscles in his thighs tensed, his belly clenched in anticipation, and Keith could see him dripping down his cock. A wicked smile curled his lips as Keith’s mouth fell open, his hands scrabbling for Shiro’s hips and digging his fingers deep enough to bruise.

 _This_! This was what he’d been aching for, the feeling of being stretched and full and connected. Shiro’s entire body screamed for more and he braced himself on Keith’s chest before moving. There were no more coherence to his thoughts, his brain couldn’t focus on anything other than the feeling as he drew Keith out before slowly fucking down again until their hips fit so perfectly together.

Each drag of his cock against Shiro’s tight rim sent shuddering sparks of pleasure cascading through his body. Shiro looked lost in his own bliss as he rode Keith into his mattress. Small fangs peeked out from beneath Shiro’s lips as he fisted his metal hand in Keith’s hair, yanking back hard enough expose his throat. Shiro only managed one word.

“Mine.”

Keith gasped, and that wicked mouth closed around his pulse, suckling so sweetly until his pulse was pounding in his ear. Then Shiro bit down harder, _meaner_ , and Keith groaned as his skin bruised, bucking into the tight wet heat of his partner’s body. Shiro took him all in, a delirious purr echoing down his throat, his entire body rumbling with satisfaction. It was all Keith could do to hold on, his nails leaving crescent marks among the tattoos on Shiro’s hips.

He didn’t expect him to go abruptly still, didn’t anticipate the way his eyes grew wide and his clutch tightened like a vice.

“Again.”

Shiro’s voice was unrecognizable, fucked raw and painfully strangled, and Keith was transfixed by it. He ran a hand up Shiro’s back, only to watch him twitch in nervous anticipation. He repeated his plea, whispered it straight into Keith’s ear, hot and ready as he ground into him. Begging so prettily as he fucked himself on Keith’s cock, using him like a toy, his thick shaft trapped between them, leaking precum on Keith’s belly.

“Again again Keith fuck please…” A litany of filth and praise, paid for in sweat and tears and Shiro took him apart, and it was all Keith could do to hold on. He was at Shiro’s mercy, too weak to pull away, and too happy to be trapped. Shiro pushed him further and further, dragging him through his pleasure until Keith was keening for release.

Shiro bore down on him just the way he liked, constricting around his cock so Keith spilled into him, then milking him dry as the human writhed and moaned, giving up everything he could. Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes, his belly jumping with every ragged breath. There was something deviously sly on Shiro’s face as he watched Keith cum, and very slowly, very deliberately, he pulled off. Arching back just far enough that Keith could watch his cum dribble down his thighs.

Keith whimpered, turning away, blushing all the way down his chest. Everything was spinning, and he couldn’t figure out which limbs were rightfully his. He didn’t think about the way Shiro pushed him unto his front, didn’t think about soft words Shiro whispered into his ear or the way he touched his back, his waist, almost beseeching. Didn’t think of anything at all, whispering yes and yes and _yes_ until Shiro’s fingers spread between his ass cheeks, the first press of something warm and wet spilling between them and then he was pushing in, slow and steady and Keith was too satisfied to do anything but groan.

Shiro’s cock tip was slender, tapered at the end, but his girth grew with every inch, spreading Keith open slowly. The ridges on his cock stroked him where he was more sensitive, thicker and wider with every inch until the stretch burned so good, Keith couldn’t even think. He arched his back, gasping for air as he clawed at Shiro’s sheets, trying to ground himself because it was too much too soon and everything felt oversensitive and raw. He couldn’t, he just couldn’t not so soon, but Shiro was stroking a hand down his belly, nipping at the shell of his ear. “So good Keith you make me feel so good.”

Metal fingers closed around Keith’s throat, hauling up so that his back bowed against Shiro’s chest. He grunted, lost in the sound of flesh on flesh as Shiro demanded every drop of pleasure from his body and wrung him dry. He didn’t even need to move. Shiro had all of him, turned him into a sloppy, greedy fleshlight, bouncing Keith on his thick hard cock until he couldn’t, couldn’t because he was lodged in Keith so deep that Keith wanted to thank him. His vision spun as black spots danced in front of his eyes and he rode the thin line between pain and pleasure, twisting his hands in the sheets for better leverage to fuck back against Shiro.

He came with a cry, too soon for anything but a thin spurt that splattered against the mattress. Shiro followed, filling him until the backs of Keith’s thighs dripped with hot, wet cum and kept filling him with a sudden thickness that left him mewling face down into the pillow. Shiro collapsed on top of him with a heavy weight and the world spun as they both tried to relearn how to breathe.

“Holy shit.” Keith croaked, his voice rough from screaming. He shifted a little, but Shiro’s arms snaked around his body and held him close.

“Not yet.” Shiro panted. “I can’t yet.”

“Can’t?” Keith shifted again, Shiro’s cock still stretching him wide enough to split him in half. “What _was_ that?”

“Sorry, just a little knotted. Give it a minute and I can pull out.” Shiro would have been embarrassed if he wasn’t so smug and the absurdity struck Keith, who started to laugh, helpless and happy and exhausted. Shiro joined him, burying his face into the back of Keith’s neck as they just held each other and laughed.

Soon enough, the swelling at the base of Shiro’s cock eased enough for him to slip free, but the two of them kept their arms around each other, rolling over to better curl together in the sweaty sheets. A sense of calm satisfaction settled over Shiro as he nuzzled sleepily into Keith, his instinct sated for now and his body too heavy to move.

“That was… wow.”

“Very wow.” Shiro agreed. “You’re amazing.”

Keith grunted, but couldn’t hide the proud smile before Shiro kissed it. “Hope you don’t mind if I stay, I don’t think I can walk right now.”

“Please stay. Besides, in a couple hours, we may need to do this another time or two.” Keith gave a strangled noise and Shiro chuckled again. “It’ll be shorter with a companion. It’ll be over in less than a day.” He cleared his throat. “If it’s okay with you, you can just lie down and I’ll take care of it.”

Shiro was only half-joking, a thread of concern wheedling into his voice, but Keith wouldn’t let it get far. He tightened his grip around Shiro’s shoulders and absently combed his fingers through his hair. It was a little like magic. The longer he combed, the better impression of a puddle Shiro made.

“I’ll be up for it.” Keith nodded sagely.

Shiro snorted, and Keith turned away, mildly insulted. Then Shiro was staring at him and laughing, and Keith tugged on his hair, trying to get him to stop.

Shiro laughed again, turning to tilt his head into Keith’s palm, a contented smile crossing his features. “As long as you’re here, I’ll be okay.”

“I’m always going to be here, Shiro. That’s what a partner is for.”

Some shadow passed behind Shiro’s eyes, a ghost of something lost. This was where he usually pulled back behind his walls again and shut down, but not tonight. He nuzzled into Keith’s shoulder with a smile, pulling the other man close. “Partner sounds nice.”

Keith hummed happily as he lazily traced his fingers across the intricate designs inked into Shiro’s skin, enjoying the way the Captain’s body would shudder slightly every time his fingers dragged across the heart of each shape. “These are beautiful. Do they mean something?”

“Mmhmm.” Shiro gently closed his hand around Keith’s and pressed them against his chest. “Do you see anything?”

“No? Am I supposed to?”

Shiro looked slightly disappointed, but he smiled anyways. “My people didn’t just speak verbally, we communicated with shared thoughts and emotions. We’d mark the events in our lives in our skin and use them to share memories by touch. Each one of these is something important that shaped me, good and bad, so that I never forget who I am or where I come from.”

“Memories?” Keith dragged his hands down across Shiro’s abdomen. “What’s this one?”

“That’s the Freedom. Serving on this ship was everything I ever dreamed about when I was little. The day I received my commission was one of the proudest in my life.”

“And this one?” Keith’s hands wandered lower, tracing an intimate series of interlocking circles low on the cut of his hip. He gasped, flushing with embarrassment as it brought the memories back and caught Keith’s hand.

“These cycles are rare nowadays. Our population has been stable for generations, we all live in gathered cities, there’s no need for the instinct. Except, ah…there was a time in flight school when I was younger that I was so nervous about the upcoming tests, I locked myself away for weeks to prepare. I was determined to be the best and I poured everything into working hard and pushing myself as far as I could. The stress accidentally triggered the instinct and it was the first time I’d-, it was the first time.

“The instinct, like… this?” Keith asked, and Shiro nodded, that flush darkening with another wave of heat.

“I know.” He groaned, sounding distinctly petulant, and that alone was almost enough to make Keith laugh but-

“You studied yourself. Into this.”

“I know!”

Shiro flopped dramatically into Keith’s arms, burying his face in his mate’s throat and letting out a sad pained whine that would’ve made Keith nervous any other time, but right now, it just made him laugh. He needled and pushed, until Shiro was draped all over him and he could scratch along the back of his skull. Just like the first time, it left Shiro boneless in his arms, something soft and low rumbling through his throat as his eyes went sleepy soft. It made Keith’s breath catch in his throat, and without rhyme or reason he gave into the urge to lean forward, and kissed Shiro’s sweaty brow.

“Was it good?”

The spacer tensed, and for a second, Keith worried that he’d asked something too private, until he noticed that the part of Shiro’s face he could see had tilted up into a wistful sort of smile.

“Well, I was really relaxed for my exams. I think I did pretty well, too.”

“You must’ve. You were the best. I’m willing to bet.” Keith caught himself just in time, clumsily tacking on the last bit to cover his tracks. His heart skipping as he tumbled too close to an admission, but Shiro was too content to notice. There was so much he wanted to know, so many stories that were written into Shiro had yet to share. His hands moved down Shiro’s arm, where veins of contaminated quintessence continued to flow and gently stroked them down. Keith wanted to hear every single one of them.

For the first time since they’d left WSP-86, it didn’t feel like they needed to outrun time. He wasn’t going anywhere, and now he knew that for sure. Empyrea was days away, even factoring in hyperdrive jumps, and Keith could finally breathe. He let himself be lulled by the weight of Shiro, the heat of him, until he realized there was something, just a little off.

“Do you hear that?”

Shiro didn’t answer, but when Keith shifted, the sound stopped and he let out an unhappy whine. Without even opening his eyes, Shiro groped for Keith’s hand and plopped it back on his head. Keith gave a soft laugh, burying his fingers into his partner’s hair and rubbing along the base of his ears. They were as soft as they looked, velvet black and warm.

The sound started almost immediately, a low rumble that was barely audible. It took Keith a moment to realize, _Shiro was purring_. He bit his lip to keep from laughing as Shiro drowsed in absolute bliss. Something tender rose up in Keith’s throat. Shiro looked so young like this, liked he’d only ever seen in those recordings. He seemed vulnerable and happy, it was clear that sharing himself like this was a rare gift and Keith appreciated it all the more. Champion might have been a hero, but this was the real Shiro that lived behind that name.

Keith would find a way to keep him safe. He promised himself that he would be the one to protect this fragile happiness.

 

* * *

 

Shiro woke up sticky. Indecently sticky, in too many places that ached and throbbed when he moved, places that felt like they’d been filled with lead and turned to jelly all at once. He thought he’d be happy if he never moved again. It had been far too long since he’d let himself come undone like this. He’d forgotten how it felt like to fall asleep next to someone he knew wouldn’t hurt him.

It was warmer than Shiro remembered, and the Koryu were supposed to have the best memories around. It was more cramped than he remembered, too. His left arm was tucked beneath Keith’s hip as Shiro pressed up against him from behind, and he’d lost sensation in his palm, nothing but prickles and tingles coming back when he tried to move it. With endless care, he detangled himself from the human, nosing at the back of his throat as Keith whined in his sleep. Once Shiro pulled away completely, he let out another one of those glum, unhappy sounds. Shiro tried to sooth it away, rubbing his cheek against the soft tufts of hair the curled around Keith’s ear, until Keith’s breathing evened out, and he turned back into his pillow, Shiro’s pillow, like he’d claimed it. Like he was Shiro’s-

Shiro swallowed thickly, and it took that much more effort to pull away. Slowly he made his way to the ensuite bath, scrubbing a hand over his face.

Keith said he’d wanted to be his partner. Shiro wasn’t sure what that meant anymore. He knew the old word for it, knew the exact implications of warmth and family and commitment it conveyed, but he was the only one. The Balmera word was different, and Shiro wasn’t sure if Keith was using that or whatever other language his Galactic Coalition-approved translator had picked, but once upon a time, partner meant someone who would defend him even against himself. Someone who would preserve the best of who he was. Someone he could open his mind to.

Keith couldn’t, not in the same way, but maybe, if he tried, it could be enough.

Shiro bent lower to wash his face, and couldn’t get up again. Everything froze as a sharp stab of pain burned through his chest, making it impossible to breathe. He sank to the ground, unable to find even enough air to scream.

Shiro didn’t know when it ended, but when he woke up, his vision was tinged in reds, and there were thick gashes in the metal of his bathroom wall. Shiro could do nothing but stare at them.

He took a moment to breathe, slowly at first, as if unsure if the pain would reignite. This was a more familiar ache, not one that had spanned centuries of evolution and instinct, but no less deniable. He rolled onto his knees, but they buckled when he tried to stand. Humiliated and humbled, he was left to crawl inch by inch across the floor, until he could pull himself up on the counter. In an indistinct compartment was a loaded syringe. With a practiced hand, Shiro injected its contents into the major artery on his chest. By his count, he was early, but it wasn’t like there were any real prescriptions on this drug.

He lay on the floor, fighting to breathe and feeling sick. His ears were ringing with garbled static and if Shiro concentrated, he thought they might almost be words. He closed his eyes, trying to catch them, but they faded away before he could and for a moment, all he could feel was regret.

None of this was going to last much longer. The injections had held the infection at bay for years, but it was only a matter of time before there was too much metal inside of himself for it to have any effect anymore. He’d stretched his borrowed time as far as he could. Shiro slid his hands across his chest, the violet glow between his ribs brighter now. He could feel the smooth edge of metal breaking through the skin from the inside. Eventually they’d spread, obliterating the markings on his body just like they’d swallow the rest of him. They’d take every memory and rewrite it. Once they were gone, there would be no one who remembered his people or what they used to be. They would be completely erased from existence.

Shiro slowly pushed himself off the floor and gripped the edge of the sink for support. He avoided the mirror as always, he never recognized the creature inside of it anymore. The tightness in his chest had eased and he could breathe again, but it was just a temporary fix.

All he wanted to do was crawl back to bed and pretend that this wasn’t happening. He could recapture that careless happiness and affection from last night when his only worry had been how to couple with an alien. He wanted Keith’s hands back in his hair, his weight pressed against him while they slept, the feeling of companionship that still made the last of his lingering instincts cry out for more.

Keith had called him a partner, but a partner knew your true self. He deserved that honesty. Keith deserved so much more than that, but there wasn’t time enough.

 

* * *

 

Keith woke up groggily, not really sure where he was. Shiro hadn’t been kidding, waking him up a few hours after they dozed off for another round of frantic, desperate sex that left them both exhausted but completely satisfied. Keith had to admit, he’d put on a pretty good performance if Shiro’s reaction had been anything to go by. There was nothing wrong with taking pride in your work.

He tried to hold on to his fleeting dreams, some beautiful alien world he’d never seen before with strange cities under glass. Something about them was so lonely. Keith stretched and groaned, his whole body stiff. He took a quick catalog of each ache and bruise, reliving exactly how he’d earned them and smiling. Maybe he’d have to get his own tattoo to commemorate this. With a yawn, he reached across the bed for his partner, but only groped the empty sheets. Shiro must have gotten up earlier, though Keith wasn’t sure how he could walk after all of that. Maybe he’d been too hungry to sleep, Keith’s own stomach was rumbling insistently.

Shower first, then food.

“Hey. Sleep okay?”

Keith turned before Shiro could finish speaking, a smile creeping across his face unbidden. Shiro was already dressed, but it was in a loose baggy shirt that showed off the tips of his clavicles, and Keith was confident in his ability to pull it all off, should the need arise. The spacer held out a bowl filled with those crunchy long-stemmed plants that reminded Keith vaguely of chicken like an offering.

Keith took the entire thing. He knew the need to keep his strength up. “Not complaining. How’re you doing?”

He made space on the bed, dragging the sheets with him. There were too many spots he didn’t want to think about, but Keith thought he found one that was relatively clean for Shiro to sit. The spacer smiled back, but he didn’t take it.

“Better. It’s almost over, I don’t feel like I’m quite so on fire anymore.” Shiro joked lightly, but there was some tension in the way he stood that made Keith wary.

“I wasn’t complaining. That was more of a workout than any of your so-called training.” Keith wrapped his hands around the bowl, worrying his fingers against its smooth sides. “You know, if you ever needed help like this again, I’d be more than willing.”

“Keith, I-” He hesitated and Keith set down the bowl.

“What’s wrong? Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“You said you were my partner.” Shiro said softly. “I’ve been alone so long that I barely remember how to be a friend anymore. But I want this, you, all of it. I…I want it too much.”

“I don’t understand.” Keith reached for him, curling his hand around Shiro’s metal wrist without hesitation and Shiro felt his heart bang against his chest.

“You’re amazing, Keith, and if we’re going to be partners, then I need to be honest with you about everything. I want to stand with you. I want to teach you everything I know so that when I’m gone, you’ll be okay without me. You can make a real difference and I’m going to help you get there.”

He watched Keith carefully, watched the way his eyes narrowed as he weighed the significance of Shiro’s words, and the way his expression brightened when they finally sunk in. If only most of them. “I want that, too.” Keith said, too open and too honest. He was pulling Shiro closer before either of them realized it, and this time, Shiro couldn’t stay away. “All of it. Shiro, being around you it’s like- sometimes it feels like a dream. Even when things are bad, I know you’re there. I know you’ve got my back. Even, even in the very beginning- right up until you tried to ditch me in the docking bay.”

There was laughter behind Keith’s bright eyes, and any grudge was forced at best. Shiro’s chest started to throb, twisting into knots that made each breath feel like it was rattling beneath his ribs, until it hurt too much to breathe at all. Shiro knew he should never have let this go so far, but looking at Keith, he felt none of the regret he knew he deserved.

“Keith.” He whispered. It was enough to make the human stop, but not enough to dim his smile. “I’m dying.”

Keith frowned, his hands smoothing the pulsing metal of Shiro’s arm. “I know you’re worried about your arm and-”

“It’s more than that.” Shiro cupped the side of Keith’s face with his hand, tracing along the jawline with his thumb. He really was beautiful, an unexpected gift that Shiro knew he didn’t deserve. He was going to hold on to the night they spent together for as long as he could, Keith was a memory that deserved to live on. “It’s spreading faster, I can’t slow it down anymore. I don’t have much time left.”

“How long?” Keith croaked.

“Weeks. Months, maybe. I can’t tell for sure. But there’s no future with me.” Shiro said calmly, but Keith shoved away from him with tears in his eyes.

“So that’s it? You’re just going to give up and die after fighting for so long? You don’t when it’s going to happen, maybe there’ll be another way to slow it down or cure it. You can’t just give up, Shiro! You’re right, I am your partner and I’m not leaving you.”

“I’m not asking you to leave, I just can’t start something that’s going to lead to heartbreak. You’re a remarkable man, you deserve that future you’re fighting for.” Shiro tried to reach out again, but Keith knocked his hand away.

“And what about what I want? Don’t I get to take this risk?”

Shiro only smiled. “Falling in love with you would be so easy. I’m not going to hurt you like that, not ever. I don’t want to lose you, but I can’t give you this.”

Keith wasn’t listening to him. Shiro could see it in the anger that darkened his features and furrowed his brow and the hurt that softened his gaze. “You’re deciding this for me. This isn’t fair. Last night you said, you said-”

“I was wrong. I’m sorry Keith.” Shiro said, and it was laughably easy to call on his sins and his shortcomings. He’d regretted them for a long time. If anything, it only knocked Keith further off balance. There was a moment when it looked like he would come undone, but it passed in a blink. With terrifying effort, he seemed to calm himself, but Shiro realized it was a shallow veneer, and hurt and betrayal raged on behind Keith’s eyes. Keith’s voice never wavered.

“I could die tomorrow. I could die today. We could hit an asteroid, or the ship could fall apart, or those stupid pirates could learn how to fucking aim.” He insisted. “Every day could be the end of it for any one of us, and I don’t want to regret never trying this.”

Shiro flinched. He didn’t expect the sentiment to hurt that much. “This isn’t a hypothetical for me. This isn’t - I don’t want to be a choice you make because you think you’re out of time and want to be reckless. I’m ready for all this to _end_ , that’s not the time to start something new.” He exhaled shakily, heard it echo in his ears, like Shiro was a hollow shell. “I don’t want you to waste your time on a lost cause.”

“You don’t even want to try.” This was just like Kipo Lle all over again. Shiro had made up his mind about what was possible and what had to be done. Maybe it was the smart decision, but safe and smart were things that could hold you back from being brave enough to take the risk and challenge the impossible.

“And if I do, it’ll hurt even worse. Trying isn’t going to fix me, I don’t want to be something you regret.”

“Too late.”

Keith couldn’t leave fast enough.

 

* * *

 

_–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission—_

 

_[Begin Playback]_

 

“Captain, we’re approaching Koryu, cutting the FTL engines to slow our entry.” Shiro said, from off camera as Captain Hiratoshi nodded. As she moved, the back of his head filled the monitor before the Captain turned to a sharp-eared officer in blue.

“Good, we’ve got quite the adventures to share back home. Airi, open up a comm channel with Central Command, let them know that we’re arriving on schedule.”

“Can’t wait to cash in on all that fame and glory.” Ryou teased, coming up behind his brother. “People aren’t going to believe half the things we’ve seen!”

“I can’t believe we brought you back.” Shiro ducked out of his grip without looking, swatting his brother away with a lifetime of practice, but he was grinning to take the sting out of his words. He was giddy with excitement. Everyone seemed to be. Their high spirits implied their mission’s success, and the closer they got to home, the more animated their conversation got.

“Captain, I’m not getting an answer to our comm request.” Airi, the diplomatic officer said, breaking through the chatter, as she typed frantically at her controls. “There may be some kind of power outage? Or a solar storm temporarily knocked out the communications satellites again? Give me a couple of minutes to figure out what’s going on.”

“Captain?” There was a note of panic in Shiro’s voice. “What’s _that_?”

The camera view swung towards the viewscreen with its endless background of stars. A planet in swirling greens and blues filled most of the screen, but it was surrounded by an entire armada of ships that circled the world like a cloud.

“We’ve got incoming, Captain!” Shiro cried as alerts started to blink in bright red across his consoles. “Whoever they are, they’ve sent a welcoming committee.”

A hush fell over the bridge, left unbroken even as their doors opened and shut. It was impossible to miss the implications of what they were seeing. It lasted for less than an exhale, but there was an edge to Captain Hiratoshi’s tone that hadn’t been there before.

“Prepare for evasive maneuvers!” She snapped, and the screen tinged grey. “Keep those bastards off our tail, Shirogane. Auxiliary power redirected to emergency ju-”

An explosion rocked the ship, sending everything into a hard lean. Thick wafts of smoke filled the room, and the Captain reached for the blaster on her hip holster. Officer Airi screamed something the translators didn’t recognize.

Then the screen went blank.

 

_[End Playback]_


	7. Chapter 7

By the time the ship arrived at Empyrea, Keith was so stir-crazy, he felt like he was going to explode. No matter how beautiful the Freedom was on the inside, it felt like a prison. There was nowhere to hide from his mistakes and every time he saw Shiro, he felt like an idiot. He’d held his heart out, more vulnerable than he’d ever been, and been rejected before they could even start. Shiro had finally opened up to him, bringing down all the walls that had kept Keith out since the moment they met and the man beneath the armor had been captivating.

For a moment, Keith had wanted and been wanted with an intensity he’d never experienced before. He wasn’t even sure what he was mourning. There’d been no relationship to grieve, everything too new and too early for something as complicated as love. There’d been affection, a connection. A shared laugh that had warmed him down to his toes. Maybe that was what he was mourning? Not anything he’d lost, but something that had almost been. A chance gone before he’d even known he wanted it.

The worst part was that Shiro was still so kind. His patience was unwavering, and his support unconditional as he offered his experience to continue Keith’s training. It would have been better to get some kind of reaction out of the Captain, anything to show that he was just as upset as Keith or that being upset about this was normal. Just a hint that maybe Keith had mattered more to him.

So Keith wore his frustration in a scowl and focused on his training, pushing himself physically to so he wouldn’t have to dwell on the emotional fallout. Shiro let him train himself to exhaustion without more than a few worried glances, but even that struck deeper than Pidge’s constant running commentary.

When he stepped foot on Empyrea, it felt like he could finally breathe and he stopped, staring out at the city in surprise. It had the same kind of energy as WSP and the Mouth, that furtive thread of danger from being a lawless colony at the edge of free space, but it was more than that. The city spread out in every direction as far as he could see. There were shops and vendors lining the streets near the landing bay and children laughed as they chased each other through the crowd. There was a sense of life here, of permanence, like they would endure even so close to the threat of war. These were people who had made a home, no matter the risks.

Keith loved it immediately.

Dry and dusty, the heat hit him immediately, settling over his bare skin like a blanket that prickled whenever he stood still long enough to let it sink in.

The buildings that lined the streets were mostly beige, tinged with the faintest red like the sands that swirled through the streets. They weren’t like the pillars of glass and metal that Keith had only seen on holofeeds, but unlike in Kipo Lle, they were actually buildings. Ceramic tiling decorated the sills and doorways of the sturdier looking properties, while the more ambitious ones were painted in bright greens. Drying laundry and long rugs hung like billowing flags from wires that crisscrossed the streets, waving at Keith, urging him to learn what else Empyrea had to offer.

“Urgh.” Pidge groaned. “Thirty kilometers east, it’s all snow. Couldn’t we have landed there?”

Keith snorted.

For the first time since he decided to stay, it felt like he’d made the right decision. There wasn’t much Keith knew about their mission, though that might have been his own fault. He hadn’t exactly tried very hard to use his words around Shiro. All he knew was that they were going to find someone. They’d been pouring over low security communication transmissions since they’d reached the star system, and it seemed like the only thing people could talk about were the Pursuit competitions, hosted by one Serrac Rho. The host was some kind of big shot that neither Shiro nor Pidge considered as anything but a distraction, but even without being told, the fact that they kept going back to him told Keith that whoever they were looking for was going to be in his orbit. Shiro wouldn’t or  _couldn’t_ give the description of their contact. Keith didn’t know if Pidge was privy to it, but she hadn’t pressed for an explanation, so Keith refused to.

Any form of idleness, imagined or not, had tested his resolve, but now that they were here, his doubts faded with the afternoon breeze. Keith had wanted to make a difference, and even if Shiro had been a big part of the decision, Keith hadn’t made it for him.

“There it is, up ahead. I can see the Jaybell Casino from here.” Pidge added.

It was hard to miss. Even if it was the same dry beige as the rest of the buildings, it was the tallest one, and from this far away, Keith could spot the fences on its roof. They must have expected intruders.

“Okay.” Shiro came up on Keith’s other side, and Keith pointedly refused to react. “Just like we talked about. We move in once I get to the high-rollers pavilion.”

As far as plans went, it could have been worse. Pursuit was a game played with a standard 60 deck, two intertwined holographic boards and a pack of dice. Right now, some over-enthusiastic kid with what looked like a gold and crimson plumage was the undisputed intragalactic champion, and people were flocking in to see him. Serrac was reportedly a big fan and already guaranteed a seat at the finalist’s table. Shiro didn't need to beat him. He just needed to qualify for the high-rollers pavilion, which would get them close enough to Serrac to signal their contact.

They had other options. This one was just the one that required the least showmanship and gun fighting. He hoped.

“It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Shouldn’t?” Keith challenged. But Shiro’s ears had drooped, just a fraction, and Keith kicked himself for noticing. Shiro winced.  

“It’s been a while since I played.”

“How long’s a while?” Pidge eyed him warily, and Shiro crossed his arms over his chest.

“A few years, but I was always pretty good at Pursuit.” He said as Pidge just stared at him. “We’ll make this work. I can get passed the prelims, and we’ll be able to make contact with Knight. Just trust me.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “I don’t like leaving all of this to chance. There has to be a better way to get in touch with him. If he’s expecting the extraction, shouldn’t he be the one contacting us?”

“The priority flags on the order were pretty clear. Whatever intel he managed to get his hands on, it’s got to be worth the risk of blowing everything when we pull him out. This came right from the top, Pidge. If it was me, I’d be laying low and be suspicious of everyone. Just stick close to me, things on Empyrea can get a little volatile.”

Pidge snickered and shot a glance at Keith. “Maybe the newbie needs your help, I can handle myself.”

Keith bristled at the insult and glared at them both. “I can handle myself.” He deadpanned.

“I know you can, Keith. No one’s doubting your ability, but this is a sensitive mission. Just hold back until we give the signal, I don’t want to spook our contact.” Shiro said as calmly as ever and something about his complete control infuriated Keith. No one could be that patient all the time or that composed, especially when Keith felt like his emotions were seconds away from exploding. Did nothing faze him? He could pretend that what happened didn’t bother him the same way he could turn his back on Rover and the others without missing a step in completing his mission.

“I know how to play Pursuit, it was popular back on the WSP and I’ve been playing it a hell of a lot more recently. If you need someone to win a contest, then I’ll do it.” Keith said, each word clipped like he was daring Shiro to argue.

“I said I’d handle this, Keith. I need you and Pidge to hang back on this one.”

“No, I can handle a mission just as well as either of you.” He snapped back. “I’ve matched you every step of the way so far, I can do this too. I’ll see you at the winner’s table.” Keith turned on them and stalked off towards the Jaybell.

“We’re screwed, aren’t we?” Pidge asked brightly. Shiro just sighed and followed after his partner.

There was no crowd waiting around the Jaybell Casino, but with every step closer, Keith noticed that conversation grew more and more pointed. It seemed to follow him, marking him as an outsider just as easily as he used to spot the new transients on WSP-86. He hunched his shoulders, resisting the urge to look around. It lasted through the casino’s courtyard. Once Keith entered the building, he didn’t care that he looked like a tourist. He wanted to _stare_.

Even if the outside of the building was as dusty the rest of the town, the Jaybell twinkled from floor to ceiling with aquamarine tiles, polished so thoroughly that Keith could see himself in their glass. The highest of them faded into a soft rose that seemed to shimmer when he looked for too long. The blinking holovids that pointed them towards the ballroom for the ‘Pursuit of Gold’ event seemed almost painfully tacky in comparison.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Shiro murmured. Keith hadn’t even heard him coming.

He nodded once, pretending to be interested in something else entirely. Then a large Betrid wearing the ironed uniform of a guard stopped them at the doorway, hooved arms crossed across her considerably muscled torso, and Keith didn’t have to pretend.

A protest danced on the tip of his tongue, but Shiro was already holding out his holster, arms held up to be patted down. Wordlessly giving up his weapons, though she never thought to look unde his gloves. He let the bouncer search him without complaint but when she turned to Keith, her hands lingered a little too long and he shoved her away. The Betrid seemed completely unperturbed, giving Keith a wink that left him flustered and red up to his ears. When she sent him on his way with a pinch, he jumped. It was only Shiro’s hand on his back that kept Keith from starting a fight.

“Stay calm, we can’t attract attention.” Shiro warned in a low voice. “I really think you should just leave this to me. It’s nothing against your skills, it’s just with a mission like this, you’re not ready yet. The responsibility’s on me, I should be the one to do this.”

Keith turned his frustrations on Shiro and glared. “No way. First one to the pavilion wins. I’ll make sure to wave at you when I get my seat.”

Shiro just sighed and left him standing in the press of people jostling for the bar or to get a closer look at the dancers that swung their limbs around metal poles as they swayed seductively with the music. Keith watched Shiro go before accidentally catching the eye of the Betrid bouncer who mimed a suggestive gesture and laughed as he quickly spun around. This was a mistake. He was way out of his depth here, but it was too late to apologize or admit he didn’t know what he was doing. He was going to prove he was just as valuable a member of the team as anyone else and then maybe…

Maybe what? Shiro would change his mind about him? Keith silently berated himself as he made his way to the betting tables. He wasn’t doing this to win approval, he kept telling himself that even if he wasn’t sure it was the truth. Now he was stuck.

Keith found an open spot at one of the tables and squeezed himself in beside a dusty Quvari and some bright orange one-eyed being that he didn’t recognize. The feeling must have been mutual, because he that one eye squinted suspiciously at him for so long, Keith began to wonder if it ever blinked. Squaring his shoulders and ignoring the unspoken challenge, Keith set his credits on the table and joined the game.

A tall, svelte Antalian in a shimmery dress eyed him with open interest, before draping himself along Keith’s shoulders. The ones that made it out to WSP-86 were always so unpolished. This one was, well, it wasn’t hard to see why they were considered the galaxy’s beauty standard. The attention made the human fidget with more than a hint of pride. Then the Antalian kissed the tip of his deck before sliding it easily into Keith’s holster, and that pride grew teeth.

“For luck,” he winked. Keith swallowed thickly. 

He could do this.

It took all of 15 minutes for the cyclops to take him for every credit he had and eject him from the table.

_Shit shit shit!_

Keith was escorted to the bar without any sort of subtlety, and when they took away his cards, he let out a pained sort of groan. He dropped his head in his hands, trying to hide the way he was smacking himself in the head. This was terrible, but he didn’t have to stop here! He just needed to figure out where to get enough credits to buy back into the round. Surely pick-pocketing here couldn’t be all that different from pick-pocketing in space?

A shadow fell over him, and Keith hunched down lower, grumbling under his breath, “Not  _now_ , Candy.”

Someone with a considerably deeper voice cleared his throat.

Keith looked up to see Shiro shuffling from foot to foot, his mouth pinched into a thin line.

“I was just - wondering if I could borrow some cred.”

Keith just stared, the edge of his mouth twitching, trying not to start laughing at the absurdity. “You need credits?”

“Maybe it’s been a tiny bit longer since I played than I remember.” Shiro said with an unhappy scowl that made him suddenly seem so young.

“I, uh, I don’t have any credits left.” Keith turned away and rounded his shoulders at the admission. Shiro just groaned and sat down heavily beside him, resting his head on the gleaming bar with his ears pressed flat against his skull. He snuck a glance at the Captain out of the corner of his eye, weirdly comforted that there was  _something_  that could rattle Shiro. “Maybe this wasn’t the smartest plan.”

Shiro grunted a reply.

“I could see the two of you losers moping across the bar.” Pidge said cheerfully, setting a fully charged credit chit down on the counter with a sharp cling. Shiro raised his head, then turned to slowly stare at Pidge when he saw the number of zeroes on the chit.

“How the hell?”

She shrugged, obviously pleased with herself. “I didn’t trust either of you, no offense. While you were playing the players, I was playing the  _game._ ” Pidge grinned and adjusted her goggles so they caught the light. “Besides, Rover and I wrote a code to crack the automated dealer bots ages ago, it was kind of ridiculously easy. And I’m awesome, so you’re welcome.”

“You-”

“Pidge, I could kiss you!”

Keith got to his feet in excitement, but Shiro was right there with him.

“High-rollers pavilion, here we come!”

They were _so_ close.

“Excuse me, miss?”

Keith tensed, and looked up. And up. Behind Pidge were the tallest Betrids Keith had ever seen. Pidge went pale behind her glasses. “Me?”

Someone cracked a knuckle. Keith swore it echoed.

Keith had never been thrown out of anywhere so quickly, and he’d been thrown out of his fair share of dives. His head was still spinning when he hit the street face first, Shiro and Pidge landing painfully on top of him. They almost didn’t let them collect their weapons at the doorway.

Pidge cleared her throat first, picking herself up with unsteady arms. “So, a lifetime ban. Do you think they mean like a human lifetime?” She eyed Keith warily. “I think I could do that. I got passed, like two already right?”

“Ha. Ha.” Shiro grumbled, elbowing Pidge in the back, dusting off imaginary dirt just so he had something to do with his hands. “We need to regroup. Think this through.”

“We could find disguises and try again?” Pidge said thoughtfully. “I’m pretty sure I can get back into their system, I know what security software they’re using now. If you can get me close enough, I promise it’ll be fine this time."

“Are you kidding me? What do you want us to do, slap on some fake mustaches?” Keith seethed until Shiro put a hand to his shoulder and knocked the frustrated anger from him as if he’d been struck.

“We take a breath and find another way without rushing in, or its time to consisder Plan B. This time without our egos on the line, okay?”

Pidge’s wrist display beeped and any argument was immediately forgotten as she pulled up a blinking holoscreen. “I’m picking up an encrypted transmission, Resistance channels. I think our guy is trying to make contact?”

“Got a location?”“ Shiro leaned in to look as Pidge overlaid a map display of the city.

“Yeah, it’s…here? It’s right  _here_.” She looked up and gave Shiro a shrug. “Wherever this guy is broadcasting from, it’s close.”

“Pidge, see if you can track it back to the source exactly. Keith, keep an eye out as we get closer in case this is some kind of trap.” Shiro gave the orders easily. “Let’s do this.”

Keith stood a little straighter, letting out a slow, even breath. When their mission came together, everything seemed simpler. If they could spend more time doing this, and less time arguing about it, he thought they’d be fine. He caught a glimpse of what could have been a map on Pidge’s holovid, then the Quvari was off, down Empyrea’s dusty streets, passed wrinkled vendors with wise eyes and kicking up sand in her wake. They went around the hotel, away from the main road and deeper into the city’s less polished corners. Keith trusted them to guide them, and he did everything in his power to make sure they weren’t tailed.

“There.”

Keith caught a glimpse of a figure down the shadowy alley on the far end of the block. Beside him, Shiro tensed, his shoulders squared and ready.

“We go in now.”

And they were off.

 

* * *

 

This was easily the hardest job of Chet’s career, and he’d been in the Unilu military since the day he could qualify. He’d always seen that as a point of pride, even if it had been a long time since anyone else shared that sentiment. His loyalty and pride in Unilu IV, his homeworld, had never wavered, even if it meant aligning himself with less traditional allies. This wasn’t his first undercover mission, but it was certainly his longest. 

None of his other assignments had such high stakes either.

He was running out of time, and everything was coming to a head. It felt like he’d been holding his breath ever since he’d sent out his request for extraction. It was worse at night, when the possibility that no one was coming for him hung like the sharp edge of a guillotine, all the more tangible without the morning’s logic to keep it at bay. Chet knew that the galaxy was a big place, and that it was ridiculous to assume that the Resistance had agents in his back yard. He knew that his cover was good enough to last him for a few more days, at the very least, but with what felt like a bomb in his back pocket, it took everything he had to concentrate.

A rustle of movement made him tense, and one of his hands twitched towards his holster. He froze. This route usually took him to the rooftops, an easy enough climb, but someone else was in the alley with him. He was effectively cornered.

“Strange _knight_ to be out here all alone?”

Chet’s heart stopped. He turned slowly, expression carefully blank, but it was impossible to suppress a shiver.

In the mouth of the alley stood three, imposing figures, their faces obscured by shadow. Light gleamed off the glasses of the figure on the far left, their head held high.

“Knight’s a long way away.” He was greeted by a smile, almost welcoming all things considered. “Who are you?”

Their leader’s expression turned into something measured and cold, and for a moment, a faint outline of purple shone through his sleeve. His seemingly ordinary hand was bisected by lines of glowing energy before it faded completely, all in the span of a blink.

Chet barely bit out a gasp. There was only one person in the Resistance with that particular weapon. The Champion. “ _Woah_.”

He blinked in surprise to see the Champion with a team, all the stories said he usually worked alone. The human was especially unexpected, there weren’t many of his kind of Empyrea beyond the traders that supplied the odd souvenir shop in the city. Chet shook himself out of his thoughts as the Champion squared his shoulders and stared him down, intimidating even though he barely came up to the Unilu’s chin. The Resistance talked about the Champion like he was a legend, one of the remaining leaders who still fought on the front lines. He’d saved cities, entire worlds. He’d struck hard against the Galra and survived and more than that, he survived their infection.

Chet was awed and did his best not to show it. It didn’t seem to work. He cleared his throat and gave a quick, brilliant grin to the Champion’s companions, earning a confused look from the Quvari girl and a cold stare from the human. Ah well, plenty of time to impress them later.

“I didn’t realize you were already in the city, I haven’t heard anything since I sent my initial transmission. I was wondering if anyone even heard me.” He said, quickly dismantling the communications array.

“I was told you had information that had to get back to leadership immediately. We have a ship and can prep to leave within the hour.” Shiro was all business but Chet shook his head.

“Look, we can’t talk here. I’m transmitting coordinates for my place, it’s secure and I can explain everything. Go there and wait, I’ll meet you in a few hours.” He hurriedly tapped a few commands on his wrist device and sent them an address deeper into the city. “I’m glad they sent someone like you to help, this is big.”

“If it’s this big, shouldn’t we just leave now?” Pidge raised an eyebrow and Chet felt like he was being judged. For such a small blue Quvari, she definitely judged harder than someone twice her size.

“It’s more complicated than that. Please, it’ll be safe. I already took care of setting up the network blockers. Just use the password I sent you and wait for me!” He waved one set of arms in the direction of the safehouse before hurrying back inside the casino.

Keith crossed his arms with a scowl and stared him down with unabashed suspicion, sizing him up with his faded uniform stamped with an insignia that Keith didn’t recognize. He was much taller and lanky in the way of most Unilu, dark hair falling in front of his eyes and his four well-muscled arms bare. “We’re not actually trusting this guy, are we?”

“We are for now.” Shiro said with a sigh. “Just stay on your guard. Let’s go see what the big deal is.”

 

* * *

 

Keith hated to admit, but he liked the place. Fastened vertically along an otherwise flat surface of one of the cliffs that surrounded the city, it had just the right balance of extravagance and excess to fit the cover of an affiliate of the infamous Serrac Rho. Keith didn’t know much about the gang leader outside of his love for Pursuit, but anyone who could be associated with so much unnecessary wealth on a quiet place like Empyrea made him uneasy. Then again, he’d only seen one city. He had no idea what the rest of the planet was like.

The safe house had three luxurious rooms, one and a half floors, and a hot tub that smelled vaguely like fruit. Pidge had whistled openly when they walked in. Keith wondered if it was because of the skyline view, but then she’d plugged her wrist display into one of the door panels and starting cooing at it.

They’d wasted no time in taking it apart, making sure it was clear of surveillance equipment and any potentially hazardous traps. It looked like a home. There were no empty drawers, and there was food in the kitchen, but there was an emptiness to it that Keith couldn’t put his finger on, until he realized that unless Knight planned on lugging one of fancy vases on his back, there wasn’t anything worth grabbing in an emergency.  

Knight. Or whatever his real name was.

As Pidge made the security system her own, and Shiro dug through the weapons cache hidden in the master’s bedroom, Keith fought back the urge to pace. He’d have to fight it for three hours longer, but when Knight returned, they were ready.

The Unilu was out of breath when he came through the door, like he’d ran the whole way there. A look of unabashed relief crossed his features before he managed to school them, but if Keith noticed, he didn’t doubt that Shiro had caught it as well. Knight was glad to see them. With an absent sort of nonchalance, Keith tried to remember the last time he’d met an Unilu who hadn’t wanted to shoot him on sight.

“My apologies for the delay, sir.” He said, addressing Shiro, just formal enough to be jarring. Keith liked it. There was no need to get gushy. Knight’s wrist display was active, and from the way Pidge’s glowed, Keith guessed she was on the same page. “This was the only time I could get away, but the data- everything you and headquarters needs should be here. I know what I requested, sir. If you need to leave, I understand, but I can’t give up my post just yet.”

A beat of silence passed. Then Pidge shrugged. “Suits me.”

“Knight, we don’t have a lot of time to spare. We were told to get you off planet as soon as we can.” Shiro was straight and to the point, but the Unilu just shook his head.

“I’ve spent the last year working myself up through the ranks to get close to Serrac Rho. He’s the undisputed ruler here, he controls most of the drug trade on Empyrea and runs everything from law enforcement to trade to the protection rackets. He’s got his hands in everything, no one makes a move without his approval.” Knight tapped his fingers on his wrist device and brought up a hologram of Serrac’s face. He was an Antalian, but an ugly one. Where most of his species were obsessed with beauty and image, his face was scarred and deformed. The graceful antlers curving up from the sides of his head were nothing more than stumps, the rest hacked off and broken.

“There’s thousands of petty crime lords just like him. I know it’s sad, but we don’t have the time to take down all of them, we have to keep focused on the Galra.” Shiro said, but Knight interrupted.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Serrac is planning something with the Galra. He’s connected to them in some way. He’s hired me on as one of his guards, but I haven’t been able to get close enough to find out what he’s planning or how to stop him.” Knight held his arms out to Shiro. “Champion, I need your help. He could be doing something to put all of Empyrea at risk, I can’t just leave an entire planet to the Galra. Together, we can get to the bottom of this.”

Keith looked expectantly at Shiro. It was a no brainer, if this criminal was working with the Galra and threatening millions of lives, then of course they’d stop them. That was what the Resistance was for, it was why they were fighting. 

Yet Shiro hesitated and Keith felt his heart sink.

“You’re sure he’s working with the Galra?” He asked and Knight nodded.

“Yes, sir. If we don’t stop this now, we might never get another chance.”

“Shiro, c’mon. If it’s that bad, we have to stay and help.” Keith said quietly, though he was gearing up for an argument.

“Fine, but we don’t go in there without a plan.”

“One that doesn’t involve card games.” Pidge grumbled under her breath, and Keith snorted in surprise. He was ready to move on to the next line of business, and across from him, the Unilu smiled just wide enough for Keith to catch a glimpse of his dimples. He looked just as relieved as Keith felt. Good.

“We do what we can to help.” Shiro said, tone sharp enough to refocus their attention. “But if the Galra are on their way, we hit the evac alerts, and go. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

It happened so quickly, Keith wasn’t even sure he’d been hit. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of him in one shot, and he scrambled to understand why that hurt so much, but words were never his strong suit. If things were serious, they were just going to abandon this place. Keith didn’t even know if a planet like this had a functioning evacuation system. WSP-86 hadn’t.

Shiro opened and closed his wrist display as soon as the data had been sent. Just like that, he had everything he needed on Empyrea. Keith was forced to wonder how important Knight was to his mission, because if Shiro needed to leave, he had no doubt that he’d be able to handle one stubborn Unilu should push come to shove.

“Alright. What do you have against Serrac?”

Shiro gave the orders with swift efficiency. Pidge set to work trying track down any potential Galra energy signals, anything that could hint at their presence on the planet. Shiro went out to search the city. With his ability to sense Galra drones, if their enemy had begun to infiltration the population, he would be able to tell.

That just left Keith, and somehow, he felt like he’d drawn the short stick. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be babysitting Knight in case their contact turned out to be untrustworthy, or if Knight was supposed to be looking after him, but something didn’t sit right about being left behind. Especially after their disastrous failure at the casino. Keith tried his best to bury his doubt, he had to trust Shiro’s plan. Even if he’d messed up, Keith was still a part of the team, he just needed to try harder not to let Shiro down.

“It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it?” Knight said with an open smile, leaning back against the wall of his apartment. “You must be really lucky to be traveling with the Champion, I can’t imagine all the adventures you’ve had. I thought I’d lived through some good stories, but he’s sort of a legend. You’d have to be someone special to impress him.”

Keith tried hard not to sulk. He thought he could pull it off. Other people might have different opinions. “He’s just like that. He can be intense.”

“You seem to manage.” There was a thread of intent behind the Unilu’s words, something pointed but not out of anger. “I wanted to thank you,” he added. “I think you helped change his mind. I thought I’d have to take Serrac down on my own, but I like the odds of this a hell of a lot more. I’m Chester, by the way. Like the human name. My Dad was always fascinated by your kind, so he wanted to give me one of their warrior names. You can call me Chet.”

“Chester, human warrior name. Right.” Keith didn’t have the heart to break it to him about the name. In this situation, he thought Chet had a point. “If we can help, I don’t think it’s right to do nothing.” 

The statement was supposed to be defensive, but the easy acceptance Chet wore helped dull his edges. If there was anyone Keith didn’t have to convince, it was Chet.

“I agree. That’s why I joined the Resistance in the first place.”

Keith looked up sharply at the Unilu. “You did?”

“Of course! It’s why I can’t leave yet. Sure, I miss being on the front lines on my own ship with my own crew, chasing down Galra.” Chet’s voice grew fond. “But I took this assignment because I was sure there was more going on here than people realized. The Galra are our main threat, but what’s the point of fighting them if we let people suffer under sadists like Serrac? Aren’t we supposed to give them a better life, no matter who’s hurting them?”

“That’s…yeah.” Keith sounded surprised that he agreed and gave the Unilu another appraising look. “I guess I just really want to make things better. This has actually been my first mission, I haven’t done any chasing down Galra yet.”

“Wow, really? But you’re traveling with the Champion, he’s famous for his battles with the Galra.”

Keith grimaced slightly. “I guess we haven’t gotten to that part yet.”

“Doesn’t matter, I’m glad you’re here.” Chet put a hand on Keith’s back.

“Shiro tends to have that effect on people.”

“I meant  _you_.” The Unilu gave him a wink that left Keith suddenly feeling flustered. “It’s not every day I get to partner up with some handsome human on a mission. I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do. I don’t think Serrac stands a chance.”

“You don’t know anything about my skills.” Keith shifted, almost embarrassed by the praise. He wasn’t used to kindness, especially from strangers. Shiro had given compliments freely, but it had taken a while before Keith had felt like he’d earned it. He’d worked hard to show himself as capable and when Shiro recognized his skills, it felt like he was invincible. This was different somehow, unexpected, and Keith didn’t know how to react when someone believed in him without demanding proof.

“You could show me if you want? I’ve got a training hologram set up in here. It’s not very sophisticated and there’s not a ton of room to maneuver, but it helped keep me in shape this past year.” Chet bounded over towards the wall and flipped open a control panel.

“You want to fight me?”

“No, I want to fight  _with_  you. That’s how you really know how to work with a partner.”

There was something about that offer that kept it swimming in the back of Keith’s mind, long after he’d told Chet yes. It was only after they finished rearranging most of the Unilu’s furniture to create a makeshift sparring ring that Keith realized he’d once offered Shiro the same thing. Was this a right of passage among the Resistance types?

Hologram training was different. Keith could already tell he liked having a physical partner better. Feedback from every hit and block came in the form of a jolt of current and the corresponding ding of a bell. It took a lot of getting used to, but it was well worth it when Keith could go up against five muscled Betrids and walk away without a broken leg.

Chet was good. He was quick on his feet and never hesitated. Maybe that had something to do with how they were fighting in his training room and knew nothing was going to kill them, but he had Keith pushing to keep up. It just wasn’t like fighting Shiro. Keith would catch himself at times, wondering if Chet would have his back. It was never long enough to jeopardize their sessions, and never long enough to stop a fight, but with Shiro he’d never had to question. He always knew.

Maybe he should’ve paid more attention.

“Keith look out!”

Suddenly the world pitched sideways, and Keith was thrown to the ground. Chet pinned him against the mat, and as Keith looked up, the hulking figure of an angry Betrid slammed his axe into Chet’s back. Everything went red.

_[ SIMULATION FAILED ]_

When he looked up into Chet’s face, the Unilu was pouting. Keith burst out laughing.

“What the hell were you thinking!?” Keith groaned, shoving the other agent off, but he was smiling, big and stupid and completely at odds with the disappointment he was trying to convey. “You cost us the round!”

“I was- you weren’t looking and I panicked!”

“That was a terrible strategy.” Keith said with intent, and Chet practically wilted.

“I suppose I could say that I was distracted? Maybe it’s hard to concentrate around you.”

“Oh, so now you’re blaming me?” Keith snorted, but it was only then that he realized Chet’s hands lingered a little too long to be accidental and he blinked in surprise.

“Next time, I’ll have to try harder to impress you.” He said earnestly and Keith found himself laughing.

“I guess you will.”

He was charming, Keith had to admit that. And handsome, with an easy smile and a sense of humor that appealed to him. He wasn’t asking for anything other than a quick release, something that Keith appreciated, but there was a sense of excitement to the young Unilu that Keith could understand. The world was more black and white, good and evil, and Chet had decided he was going to throw himself head first into that adventure to help people. It was simple and Keith felt like he could use a little simplicity.

The soft sound of a throat clearing had them both scrambling to their feet, red faced like teenagers caught in the act. Shiro stood in the doorway, as calm as always as he regarded the pair. “I haven’t found any trace of Galra drones in the immediate area, we’ll wait for Pidge to report before we make our next move.” He hesitated like he wanted to say something else, but withdrew as Keith scowled in his direction.

The moment Shiro was out of ear shot, Chet groaned.

“Oh crap.” Chet whined, his face buried in one of his hands, shocking Keith out of his reverie. He looked absolutely miserable. “That just happened.”

“I know. I was there.” Keith did his best to look unimpressed, but he couldn’t help it when a smile sneaked across his face. His heart was still beating too fast, and his breaths came in short, uneven bursts, and in that moment, he told himself that he didn’t care what Shiro thought. He could believe it for a little while. “Come on, let’s figure out what’s going on.”

There was nothing to discuss until Pidge returned, but by then, Keith had been able to throw on something less sweaty. He’d changed and showered undisturbed in one of the empty rooms. Chet’s offer seemed all the louder when he was repeating it in his head. When Pidge arrived, she met them in the living room. She wasn’t happy.

“I haven’t found any sign of Galra tech in the city. At least, nothing that’s active. There’s no spikes in quintessence. If they’re here, they’re underground.” She said with a frown.

“You didn’t find any connection between Serrac and Galra tech?” Shiro asked and Pidge adjusted her goggles.

“Nope. You sure we’ve got good intel on this?”

They all turned towards Chet. “There’s a connection, I’m sure of it.”

“How did you know he has anything to do with the Galra?” Keith asked carefully. “He might just be some power hungry crime lord, you don’t have to be Galra to be awful.”

“My source is sound, alright? I just need you to trust me.” The Unilu defended, insubordinate for the first time, but even as Pidge’s gaze went hard, and Keith suspicion sharpened, he kept his eyes on Shiro, quietly beseeching.

Shiro gave nothing away, expression blank and unreadable, and Keith wondered if Shiro had ever shut him out so thoroughly.

“We’ll keep digging for one more day.” Shiro decided. He didn’t complete his ultimatum, but he didn’t need to. No one disagreed outright, but the deadline hung over their heads through the rest of the night, passed dinner and until the lights were dimmed for the night. Pidge got her own room, forcing Shiro and Keith to share. That only kicked up the tension, giving it a new power and force. As he prepared for bed, it felt like Shiro was tracking his every move, but whenever Keith tried to catch him, the Captain had his back turned.

It wasn’t fair. Shiro was so close that Keith could reach out and touch him, pull him down into the borrowed sheets and bury himself in his warmth. Any moment Shiro could turn around and give him that laughing smile that Keith felt he’d saved just for him, the one he’d worn when they were tired and alone and far away from the thoughts of missions or war. when for a brief moment, Keith had seen the man behind the pain and Shiro had wanted him.

When Shiro had trusted him.

The questions crowded into the uncomfortable silence and remained unspoken. _Why didn’t you at least try? Why wasn’t I good enough? Why was it so easy to walk away when I can’t stop thinking about you?_

 _“_ Are you okay?” He finally asked, the only question to escape as he watched Shiro rub his hand against the seam where the metal met flesh. 

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” Shiro said, calm as always. “Take the bed, I can sleep on the floor.”

“No, I-. You shouldn’t have to.” Keith started to protest, but when they heard footsteps outside their door, it was almost a relief.

Without needing to be told, they waited in silence, until the front door opened with a soft hiss.

“I’m going after him.” Keith said, seizing the chance to escape. Shiro didn’t reply immediately. Keith was just waiting for him to argue. To ask him to stay. Hoping that he would and ready to fight to prove he could go. Maybe that was just his rebellious heart, but Shiro always had a way of surprising him.

“If anything looks suspicious, alert us. We’ll be ready to fly if need be. Be careful, Keith.”

Shiro could give him that much. Keith wondered what it would take to get Shiro to trust him with everything. He fled, facing whatever danger a Empyrea at night could offer was better than another moment in that unbearable room.

He tailed the Unilu across town, where the slums pressed up against the glittering cartel run casinos and bars closer to the space port. Here, Keith recognized the struggle of survival. The squatters and the refugees, the ones who lived on the edge of desperation. The city was big enough to try and hide them away, but they clung to life. Chet led him to a building that appeared abandoned, but Keith had been around Pidge long enough to notice the hidden notches along the walls, where control panels were subtly tucked away. The Quvari was always attached to one it seemed.

He waited until Chet deactivated the security system to speak up.

“This is serious stuff.”

The Unilu tensed, hand moving to his blaster, but when he turned to find Keith, he almost relaxed. Almost. “Working with the best the Resistance could get their hands on.” Chet said with a wan smile. “People in this neighborhood are smart enough not to ask questions, but you can’t be too careful.”

“Wonder what you’re doing in this neighborhood at all.” Keith drawled casually, but he was tense as he watched Chet, unsure if the Unilu would prove himself to be an enemy. The other man kept his face blank before pulling open the door and gesturing Keith inside. If it was a trap, then Keith knew he was walking straight into it, but he believed he could handle everything the Unilu could throw at him.

For all his confidence, he hadn’t been prepared for what he saw.

The wreck of a ship took up most of the bare room, its walls covered in star charts and maps of the city, each one overlaid with markers as if Chet had been tracking something. Keith didn’t recognize the design of the ship, but something about it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. “What is this?”

“This ship crashed outside of the city a few weeks ago. The only reason I found it first was because I was monitoring known Galra comm channels. Getting it back here was a real challenge.”

“It’s a  _Galra_  ship?!” Keith spun to stare at Chet, all the pieces falling into place. “This is where you got your information on Serrac. Why didn’t you just tell us?”

“I made a judgement call.” Chet said tensely. “What I found goes way beyond Serrac, that’s why we need to get it to Resistance leadership as soon as we can and why I can’t trust it to be broadcast safely. It’s just…I found Serrac’s name in the data too, I can’t turn my back on the people here, even if this intel is critical. I’ve lived here a whole year, I know these people. If there’s something I can do to help them, then I’m going to do it no matter what the cost.”

“But why didn’t you just tell us about the ship?”

For the first time, Chet seemed uncertain. “I didn’t know who the Resistance was sending to meet me, I didn’t know you. I had to be careful. This, all of this, it’s so much bigger than me. This is alpha level clearance, I can’t let it fall into the wrong hands, even if we’re on the same side. It’s too dangerous. If something goes wrong or if I trusted the wrong person, then people would die.”

Keith nodded sharply. Even if he didn’t necessarily agree, he understood. An intact Galra ship would have been a prize for anyone, Resistance or otherwise, he could appreciate being careful. “But you’re trusting me now?”

“Doesn’t look like I have much choice now.” 

Keith paused. He could understand something of the Unilu’s predicament. The ball was in his court now, and even retreat held its own consequences. Except unlike Keith, Chet didn’t have a superior officer to pass the decision to.

In the end, he decided he hadn’t gone as far as he could without back up. For the moment, it didn’t look like he was in any danger. The only way to move was forward. (And if he needed him, Shiro was only a call away.)

“What else did you find?”

Chet watched him with a keen eye, staring with such open focus that Keith fought back the urge to fidget. Then he nodded, just once. It wasn't enough to wipe the uncertainty off his face. He lead Keith deeper into the building, gesturing for him to follow, and if it took Keith a moment longer to find his courage, no one else would know.

The room was bathed in the glow of old-fashioned fluorescent lights. There wasn't a trace of Galra purple in sight, but that wasn't enough to calm Keith's nerves. Maybe it was the scent, something sharp and bitter like uncooked meat. In the center of it all was a large work table, covered with more tools than Keith recognized. But he wasn't looking at them.

On the counter was a man.

It took Keith a second to realize what he was looking at, but the shock of white hair was as much a giveaway as the snow-soft ears that poked out of it. A sudden, dizzying sense of relief churned in his gut, a desperate sort of hope. He had to tell Shiro. He had to know someone else from Koryu had survived! Whether it was wishful thinking or willful ignorance, Keith couldn't tell, but even as he stared, he refused to understand what he was seeing.

The man had been taken apart. From clavicle to groin, he'd been sliced open, the flesh of his body peeled back to crack open the cavity of his chest. Bone and metal stuck out in odd angles, peeled back like they'd been bent by pliers. The heavy machinery of his organs had been taken out and painstakingly restored beside him, while the organic components of his flesh greyed with decay. The back of his head was nothing but a mess of black oil. It looked like part of his skull had been removed.

There were shackles around his ankles and wrists, covered in the same black goo. Like he'd struggled through most of the operation.

“I found the pilot.”

 

* * *

 

_–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission—_

_[Begin Playback]_

The screen remained blank, reflecting nothing but unfocused static. In the distance there was gun fire and screaming in a language Keith didn't understand. They voices raised and broke, made brittle by pain and horror. It sounded like they needed help.

Whoever they were, Keith hoped they found it.

_[End Playback]_

_–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission—_

_[Begin Playback]_

“The Captain is dead. She’s dead.” The engineer Yune sat facing the camera, his eyes glowing a bright yellow and the scrawl of violet circuitry disfiguring his face. White streaks threaded through his hair and he seemed to have trouble focusing on the log. “Everybody’s dead. She would have wanted…”

Shiro sat beside the engineer with a worried look, the young man’s face bruised with deep shadows smudged under his eyes. His arm was bandaged and blood stained the white cloth, but he seemed whole. He sat silently beside Yune, whatever telepathic communication lost in the recording. Shiro winced, turning haunted eyes back to the camera.

“I can take over, Yune.” He said gently as the engineer murmured unintelligibly. “This is, it was a record of our mission, but there’s no one left to hear it. If we record it in Balmeran, maybe someone will find it someday and remember what happened.” Shiro touched a tired hand to the deep wound cutting across his face, struggling to find the right words in a foreign tongue to describe a loss so massive, he could barely comprehend it. Anything he could say was only a fraction of the grief, a wordless and visceral emotional scream no words could translate.

“We were attacked. The whole planet, they’re-, we weren’t ready for war. They kept us in this cell like animals, pulling us out one by one to hook up to their machines. We had to watch as they took Yune and Airi a-and Ryou.” Shiro swallowed hard and looked like he might be sick. “There was so much pain, it feels like I’m deaf.” He gently tapped the side of his head with a trembling hand. “Everything still hurts.”

Yune gave a soft wail and Shiro wrapped an arm around the engineer, rocking him gently until he quieted, staring out into nothing. “They were coming for me next, but the Captain attacked the guards and we were able to pull our crew out of the machines. We made it to our ship and she, she held the passageway to give us time to escape. She’s gone.”

“We’re not gone. We’re here, all here.” Yune whispered with a smile. “Never alone.”

“Yune was the worst, but the others are changing too. Ryou says it’s some kind of tech virus, he’s never seen anything like it before. He’s working on a way to stop it, but-, I don’t know. We just jumped into dark space, I don’t know where we are. There’s no where we can go for help. I don’t know what to do.”

Everything changed in a heartbeat. The engineer stiffened in Shiro’s arms before his face twisted into a snarl, ears flattened to his skull and the violent energy blazing across the metal that had once been skin. He launched himself at Shiro, tumbling them both off camera.

“RYOU!” Shiro screamed, followed by a crash. “RYOU!!”

His brother dove into the fight and the two men dragged the snarling, snapping creature away. The camera kept recording the empty chairs for a long time before the file finally ended in silence.

_[End Playback]_


	8. Chapter 8

“What have you done?”

The words whispered into the silence as Keith slowly approached the table, drawn to the horror by some kind of twisted gravity. This close, he could see the Galra’s blank, staring eyes. The glow had gone out of them, leaving nothing behind but a dull yellow. Its body had been hacked apart, broken open and fitted with wires. Chet looked almost proud, Keith felt sick.

“It was still functional when I pulled it out of the wreckage. I was able to crack open its main CPU and download all kinds of data. Even the mundane stuff is invaluable, ship patrols, base locations. It’s how I found Serrac’s name. Not too bad for an Unilu.” He crossed one set of arms over his chest and set the other on his hips. “You know how many people we can save with this information?”

“But you killed him. You  _tortured_  him.” Keith reached out to touch the mutilated form, but pulled back, curling his fingers into his palm. Chet just watched him curiously.

“Him? It’s a Galra. It’s just a robot.” He reached over and banged a hand against the metal ribs until they clanged. “It’s not a real person, it’s not like you’d feel bad about dismantling a gun or a spaceship.”

“Guns don’t beg you to stop!”

“With the right programming, you never know.” There was an edge to Chet’s voice that Keith didn’t expect, but the worry that came with it exacerbated it a thousand times. He sounded like he was explaining something he thought Keith should already know, his words gentling in a way that left Keith’s heckles raised. “If I hadn’t taken it out, it could’ve killed every single person in this city. That’s what they do.”

None of this was right.

The words spun through Keith’s head, but he couldn’t seem to put them in order. In the face of such calm acceptance, no denial seemed strong enough. The Galra were their enemies, the enemies of the entire galaxy, but this was sick. The drone continued to stare through him, it’s mouth parted as if in mid-thought. It would have been better if it looked as horrified as Keith felt.

“You’ve never seen a Galra before.” Chet was understanding and sympathetic, more concerned with Keith’s discomfort than the brutality laid bare before them both.

“No. I didn’t expect them to look so… lifelike.” Keith desperately wanted to turn away, to pretend the mess of wires and oil and broken machinery didn’t have a person’s face. Or one who looked so much like Shiro’s. Oh god,  _Shiro_. A fresh wave of grief broke over Keith. Whatever their current situation, this would cause his Captain nothing but pain and Keith would never wish that on anyone. But this was all too much, he couldn’t keep it from Shiro even if it could spare him.

“That’s the point.” Chet said grimly. “Especially with these infiltration drones. Some of the soldier drones are usually more heavily modified, but the infiltrators are meant to pass themselves off as organics. They mimic the way we act, they have survival programs that make them almost seem like they could experience pain or emotion, but they’re just machines. Anything living in them was replaced with circuitry a long time ago, you can’t forget that or they’ll use it to destroy you.” He sighed, gesturing to the body. “They want us all to end up like that, Keith. They want to kill us all and turn us into machines and if we’re not willing to do what it takes, they’re going to win.”

Keith realized this wasn’t a debate. Chet was just waiting for Keith to come around. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

It escaped in a horrified whisper before Keith could stop himself, but given the choice, he wouldn’t have taken it back. “I don’t know how sick you have to be to do something like this. He might have been an enemy, but he was still a person. He’s been through enough.”

Except Keith wasn’t sure who he was talking about anymore. His hands were trembling, and he couldn’t seem to get them to stop. If Chet moved on any closer, he knew with cold certainty that he would put the Unilu on his back. 

Chet put all four arms on his hips and sighed. “I know this is hard to see, I’m sorry it upset you. I didn’t kill whoever this was, the Galra did. They killed him when they infected him and turned him into just some soulless collection of wires and metal. He was already gone, all I did was stop a robot from hurting anyone else.”

No wonder the Galra were so feared. They could strip the life from you and leave you hollow, a smiling machine wearing skin, ready to kill when the order was given. The lives of everyone on this planet was at risk. Would Keith have made the same decision in Chet’s place? Would he ever have to? He couldn’t blame Chet if he couldn’t answer that question himself.

“If you want us to trust you, then you have to trust us first.” He finally said, swallowing that fear down with all the others he’d collected. “I have to tell them. I… I understand.”

He kept his back to Chet as he activated his wrist display. It was only when Shiro and Pidge walked through the front door that he found it in himself to stop avoiding him. Even from across the room, he could see their surprise, but neither of them seemed confused by what they were facing. Keith moved before Pidge could finish reactivating the security locks. He didn’t know what he was going to say, but he couldn’t let Shiro walk in there unaware.

Pidge was the first one to see the table. With a sharp gasp, she stopped in her tracks. Keith could see the curiosity warring with horror on her face. An intact Galra drone was fascinating and a rare opportunity to study, but with Rover’s death weighing on her conscience, all she could do was stare.

“Shiro.” Keith tried to get to him first, offer some kind of explanation or prepare him in some way. Some kind of sympathy to soften the blow, but he couldn’t block the sight completely, and Shiro froze, taking in the mutilated machine up to the tips of its ears. “I didn’t know what to do.”

He reached out a hand, but it was like Shiro didn’t see him. Keith recognized that expression, the tightened muscles in Shiro’s jaw, the shallow too-fast breaths as sweat beaded along his forehead. It was just like when they first found Rover. Keith cursed himself for letting this happen.

“Shiro, it’s okay. Snap out of it. Please.” He wrapped his hand around Shiro’s, but the other man flinched back from the touch, turning wild, unfocused eyes on Keith. “Shiro?” Keith tried again, his voice soft.

He was worried he wouldn’t get a reaction, but Shiro shifted, facing him properly, his lips curving around a word Keith couldn’t hear and didn’t understand. Then he looked away, closing those haunted grey eyes, his shoulders slumping forward like an unseen puppet master had cut his strings. It felt like a lifetime had passed between them, but they’d lost only moments, and when Shiro turned towards the inside of the Galra ship, he held his head high.

The Captain made a beeline for the operation table. No one tried to stop him. Up close, the similarities were more jarring. They had the same wide brow and strong jaw, the same white hair even if the drone’s was longer and more curled, just enough to tell that they were the same species. Shiro searched his face, carefully touching the curve of his cheek before he tried to smooth the angle of the Galra’s twisted ear. It wouldn’t budge, a birth defect perhaps. He remained nearly silent until the very end. Then with a gentle hand, Shiro closed the drone’s eyes.

Keith didn’t know if Shiro found what he was looking for, but he hoped it gave him some peace.

“Sir.” Chet started, his brows furrowed like he was struggling with a difficult math question. Shiro didn’t let him get very far.

“The data you submitted, does it include all your findings from this experiment?” His voice remained steady, devoid of inflection or emotion, but Chet shied away from him anyway.

“Yes, sir.”

Shiro nodded. He didn’t spare the Unilu another glance. “Pidge, can you make sure that the machinery’s been completely deactivated?” He didn’t rush her, didn’t push as Pidge removed her glasses, wiping them on the edge of her shirt.

“My experience with drones is limited, but I should be able to.”

“Shiro? Do you know him?” Keith asked hoarsely, but Shiro shook his head. He leaned down to press their foreheads together in a gesture Keith knew must mean more than he could understand.

“No. But I don’t need to.” The answer was short and terse, and the others felt like they should somehow apologize, but Shiro moved briskly on. “Okay… Okay. I have a plan.“

With one last lingering glance at the last Koryu he’d seen in years, Shiro turned his back on the work table. He moved with military precision and strength, every gesture sure and unflinching. It made Keith feel ill. "First, we put him to rest. Then, we go see Serrac... If he’s expecting a Galra, we’ll give him one.”

 

* * *

 

_Breathe._

  
Shiro felt like there were bands of iron around his chest, squeezing tight until he struggled to draw every breath. He couldn’t even tell himself it was the infection turning his insides to metal. His nerves still jangled, his body shocky and trembling from the rush of adrenaline and the blind panic that had followed.  
  
It had been so long since he’d seen any of his own kind There wasn’t time in battle to remember their faces or what they’d been before they’d been converted into Galra. Whoever that man had been, he was a piece of home. A man who’d existence had been stolen before ending up on a table, ripped apart like someone was looking for spare parts. Shiro was going to remember him since no one else would, one more terrifying, broken memory that cut him up from the inside and left him bleeding.  
  
But there was no time to mourn or to break. He had to breathe, he had to keep moving. There would be time enough to rest when it was over. Right now, he had to become his nightmare and sell it. Shiro squared his shoulders and faced down the fortified door to Serrac’s compound, hitting the control panel.  
  
“Open the door, Serrac Rho called for us.”

Built more like a fortress than a luxury manor, the compound was in the middle of a desert wasteland, surrounded by nothing but dust for miles. Knight’s data continued to prove accurate.

_STATE IDENTIFICATION._

His right arm flared to life, with all the power and strength to peel apart the six inches of steel that separated him from Serrac. Shiro was so rarely in such complete agreement with it. The device remained silent, but the metal doors slowly began to roll back, revealing a platoon off armed troops. Mostly Betrids, some Unilu. The scum who sold their services to the highest bidders across the galaxy. None were shy about the weapons they held. Shiro didn’t even flinch.

It was incredibly careless of them, he thought. If he’d really been Galra, there would’ve been nothing stopping him from killing them all.

He walked into the compound like he’d already claimed it, ignoring the armed guard in honor of the disfigured figure waiting for him in the center of the courtyard. This close, Serrac looked even more hideous. He was an old Antalian, dark brown fur left tawny with age, but there was a sharp intelligence in his eyes that could not be overlooked. Shiro bore more than his fair share of battle scars. War gave them away almost as freely as it did orphans. Serrac still gave him pause. There was something angry about the jagged lines that tore across his skull. They cut from the base of his neck to the place his antlers should have been at the top of his head, leaving uneven stumps where the Antalians normally held their most prominent feature.

Shiro wasn’t sure he cared. Serrac was far from an anomaly. Greed had opened enough doors to unsuspecting worlds for the Galra. Shiro didn’t think he would need much more confirmation before he would start shooting.

Serrac laughed and a chill raced down Shiro’s spine, but he refused to move, staring down the crime lord with empty eyes. “Look at you.” The Antalian drawled, leaning in to see better. He pressed into Shiro’s space, unafraid and overconfident with his army of mercenaries at his back. He ran gnarled hands down Shiro’s face, the tips of his fingers hard as hooves, before grabbing Shiro’s arm to study the glowing metal. It took all of Shiro’s self-control not to react.

“I’ll bet you could cut through just about everything with this. Useful, huh?” He asked with a sneer. Shiro said nothing and it was clear Serrac had been expecting an answer. The silence was jarring, robotic, and Serrac cleared his throat. “Well, we’ve been waiting for you. I was beginning to think you people weren’t interested in replying to my invitation. I’ve wanted to meet one of you things for a long time.”

“We were intrigued.”

“I’ll bet you were. Who wouldn’t be, with what I was offering you.” Serrac gestured for his men to take a step back to give them more room. “I promise our deal is worth the trip. You can tell your leaders all about it. Come with me, let me show you what I’ve been working on.”

The man was disgustingly smug, the sort who collected power for the sheer joy of wielding it. A petty, cruel king on a world where no one could oppose him. His smile made Shiro sick, but he followed behind as Serrac led him deeper into the compound. His guards were never far.

The interior of his home was just as thoroughly secured as the rest of his estate. Shiro didn’t have time to dawdle, but he knew Serrac hadn’t underestimated his opponents. Shiro would have to live up to his expectations.

A collection of expensive artwork decorated the foyer, bearing names meant to impress more than inspire. They disappeared the moment Serrac turned the corner, leading Shiro and his army down an empty hallway. It opened into what felt like another world.

The path was well lit, and bleached clean to reach the sterile perfection of a laboratory. Further down the aisle, the walls were replaced with layered glass screens that started at waist-level and stretched to the ceiling. It only took a moment to plant the tiny device on the control panel in the corner, his hands moving like lightning before Serrac or his entourage could notice.

“We remain unconvinced of the merits of this agreement.”

Serrac smiled, buoyed with what Shiro first thought was a sense of peace. Then he saw the hunger behind it. “I assure you this will be a worthwhile trade, for the both of us. Let me show you our most promising subject.”

When Serrac ushered him into the large, sterile room, Shiro’s control broke and he couldn’t keep the horror and revulsion from his face. The crime lord didn’t seem to notice.

The walls were lined with row after row of embedded caskets, like giant pills, smooth and featureless. There weren’t enough caskets to account for the missing people Knight had been tracking. Serrac summoned one using a nearby control panel. It opened to reveal an unconscious but writhing body.

Shiro didn’t know how anyone could be in so much pain and still sleep.

“We’re having moderate success with our alternations and we’ve decreased our mortality rate by 12% over the last few months. I think we’re close to a breakthrough.” There was almost pride in Serrac’s voice as Shiro struggled not to be sick.

Casket after casket slid before them. His brain refused to put the pieces together in anything that even resembled sentient beings, the fact they were still alive was some kind of perverse, disgusting miracle. Most still had the stumps of antlers on their heads where they’d been hacked off, the most beautiful people in the galaxy reduced to raw pieces of meat. The worst ones were the tiny bodies, too small to be adults. Serrac was mutilating his own people.

“Why?” Shiro whispered before he could stop himself, tearing his eyes away from the carnage.

“Because of you!” Serrac said brightly. “All of this is for you, and now that you’ve been dumb enough to fall for my invitation, we can finally move onto Phase Three.” He gestured at his men and before Shiro could protect himself, a sharp prong stabbed deeply into his side, electricity searing through his body. Every nerve screamed as his body jerked and convulsed, his teeth clamping down hard enough on his tongue to fill his mouth with blood. He choked, seizing hard as he collapsed on the floor.

“Prep him.” Shiro heard Serrac’s voice, though it sounded like it came from a different room. “I want a concentrated sample of his virus ready in 24 hours. Time to test how well our little experiments can resist it.”

There were hands on him, pulling him up even as his feet refused to respond and his knees throbbed. Shiro wanted to scream, but it felt like every muscle in his body was frozen in place, trembling with an ache that penetrated through to his bones. His pulse was racing, faster than he’d ever heard it, a symphony built on bass alone, and the world beneath him swam with color, blurring together until Shiro couldn’t take it anymore they were coming for him they were going  _to take him apart-_

 _Breathe_.

He had to breathe.

He was fine. He was alive. He had to breathe. With copper on his tongue, and sweat on his brow, his metal arm going numb and threatening to come apart, Shiro couldn’t afford any less. He couldn’t look up, but the shadow of cage bars spilled across the floor. Other prisoners lingered just out of sight, cowering figures that huddled together, trying to remain unseen as they waited for their turn to be destroyed.  

There was nothing left Serrac could take from him.

He had to breathe.

Then Shiro was slammed on his back. Cold manacles fastened around his ankles and wrists, spreading him beneath the glare of a surgical lamp.

For a moment, he was on a foreign ship, young and terrified staring up into the emotionless faces of the Galra. In the next, he was strapped to a table with his allies standing over him, drill in hand to cut him apart now that he’d become one of them. The screaming was too loud to think, why wouldn’t it stop? It rang against the inside of his skull and took him too long to realize it was his own voice, trapped in the silence of his mind.

“Look at it struggle. These fucking things really do almost look alive, don’t they?” Serrac’s face swam into view above him. “Get a good look at it, boys. These things are built to kill. They’re mindless machines pretending to be alive, and they’ll turn you into one of them if they don’t just shoot you in the fucking head. We’re gonna save all Empyrea with this. If we don’t do what it takes to survive, they’re going to win.”

There wasn’t even a murmur of disagreement. It was a war of numbers, a few hundred innocent casualties mutilated to “protect” them from the Galra meant nothing if it worked. It was insanity, the desperate idea of a madman with no idea what the Galra was capable of and ruled by his own fear. Shiro didn’t have any sympathy.

His wrist device gave one soft beep as the bug he’d planted finally connected and the lights suddenly blinked out. The emergency lights kicked, and everything was bathed in a dim blue. Shiro bared his teeth at Serrac, his arm flaring to life with a deadly heat. He snarled like a wild animal, slicing through the restraints and leaving nothing but twisted, red-hot metal behind as he rolled to his feet.

They never got a warning.

Shiro grabbed the nearest guard by his knee and shattered it with supernormal strength. The Betrid screamed as he fell, but Shiro was already prying his blaster out of his hands and opening fire on the lab. Two guards fell instantly, never to rise, before he hit his mark, and the security lights went out as well, plunging tem in darkness.

“Find him!” Serrac yelled. “Kill him or he’ll kill you all!”

Shiro’s eyes flashed Koryu silver, and before any more of Serrac’s men could reach for their night vision goggles, they were cut down. Explosions of laser blast echoed through the operating room. Even after the shooting stopped, the smell of smoke and burned flesh was suffocating. Shiro carved a bloody path to get to the Antalian. Serrac didn’t know it was too late until he was slammed into the very table he’d meant to butcher Shiro on.

Even with his bones creaking and muscles quivering in fear, he spat defiance into the Captain’s face. “You can’t have me, you monsters! You can’t change me! I’ll die pure! Do it, kill me you bastard! MAY WE SHINE!”

Shiro snarled through a mouthful of fangs, a cold sweat dripping down his brow, his body battered and beaten, the taste of blood still on his tongue. He met Serrac with an even gaze as the pressure in the back of his skull grew and grew, threatening to break through bone completely. Somewhere, deep in the mangled edges of his mind, something started to buzz.

His arm came alive with Galra strength, then he reached for Serrac’s neck, squeezing tight enough that his eyes bulged and his captive choked.

“You’re lucky I’m  _not_ a Galra. There are so many things worth than death, trust me on that.”

For the first time, Serrac was stunned speechless.

The door opened with a deafening crash, and suddenly Keith was there, holding a blaster meant for hooved hands, his eyes wild with fury. Just a step behind him was Knight, his face set in grim determination, two guns raised in opposite directions and ready to shoot. They both stopped when they saw Shiro.

Slowly, intentionally, Shiro deactivated his Galra arm, ready to face the worst of it.

Keith took the first step forward, his gaze instantly focused on the gasping Antalian who collapsed to Shiro’s feet. Shiro couldn’t meet his eyes. Instead he focused on a point over his shoulder, and hoped Keith wouldn’t notice. He didn’t have an excuse for them. He told himself he needed one, and the lie was almost smooth enough to swallow.

But all Keith had for him was concern, honest and so undeniably Keith. “Are you okay?” The human asked, looking him over with quick, brisk movements, as if nothing had changed between them. “We heard everything.”

_Breathe._

He was fine.

“Good. Then it’s over, the locals can handle everything now.” Shiro said. “You both were right on time.”

“Thank that hacker of yours, girl’s a genius! The whole network went down right on schedule as soon as you planted the bug.” Chet beamed, still flush with excitement and adrenaline. “I  _knew_  this guy was evil, but we took him out. We did it!”

Keith couldn’t help but get swept up in Chet’s enthusiasm. They hadn’t had a win they could celebrate before, a real victory over something evil and cruel. They’d stopped a monster, people were alive because of them. When Chet wrapped all four arms around his waist and lifted Keith up into the air, he let himself laugh.

Shiro let them celebrate, but turned away to hide the snarl that twisted his face. Ugliness curled inside of his chest, angry and jealous. He’d been the one to walk away, he had no right to want something he’d chosen to give up. But for one night, Keith had been his and Shiro had written his name in the other’s body, a memory worth inking into his own skin to keep. Keith had been _his_. Shiro swallowed the bitterness and lied to himself. He could be the support Keith needed. A friend and partner, someone to trust. He could tell himself he was glad Keith was happy.

He was _fine._

It was an exercise of will to shove the jealousy down, locking it deep with the other ugliness that had accumulated on his soul. The hate that demanded the feel of Serrac’s blood on his hands, the howling grief for an unknown Koryu, the rage at the cruelty the Koryu had endured for ‘the greater good.’ No one noticed, he worked hard to keep it that way.

The next emergency was already on its way.

“Shiro, Shiro!” Pidge ran into the room, her expression solemn.

“What is it? Something wrong?” Shiro was immediately on alert as Pidge pulled up a holoscreen from her wrist display.

“After I broke into Serrac’s security system, I did some looking around. Chet wasn’t kidding, he’s been broadcasting calls on Galra channels for a while.” She bent over, heaving for breath.

“But we knew that. That’s how our intel had his name. We intercepted their contact.” Chet said, puzzled. Neither he nor Keith had stopped smiling yet, but Shiro felt his stomach drop as he realized the implication. The gleam in Pidge’s eye told him she’d feared the same.

“Pidge.” Shiro said. “That was just a scout. You think they’re going to respond in force?”

“I don’t know how they wouldn’t. It’s only a matter of time.”

“I did it to save them.” Serrac gurgled, spitting blood on the floor, but he couldn’t even pull himself to his feet. “My children will be resistant to the virus, I’m sure of it. We’re all going to be free.”

“Shut up, you stupid horn-head.” Pidge snapped.

Shiro’s tone was grim. “We give him to the locals to take care of and get whatever law enforcement this city has to help the survivors. We don’t know when the Galra will respond. There’s time to start an evacuation.” They all knew there wouldn’t be time to finish one.

Chet looked stricken. It hadn’t taken him long to come to the same conclusion.

“Champion, there’s no way the whole planet can be evacuated! It would take months, maybe longer. They’re going to need help-”

“We turn this over to the locals and we leave within the hour.” Shiro’s tone didn’t invite discussion. “We did what you asked, we have to finish the mission.”

“But they won’t stand a chance.” Chet said softly.

Shiro picked up Serrac’s broken body and dragged him out without another word.

 

* * *

 

Keith was glad to be back among the strange, alien flowers on the Freedom. They’d left Empyrea hours ago, but his nerves still hadn’t settled. He stalked restlessly through the ship, seeking relief, but his thoughts hunted at his heels. Pidge could be wrong, there was no way to tell for sure that the Galra would fall for Serrac’s bait. They could ignore a single lost drone and turn towards more profitable targets.

But what if they didn’t?

Weeks, maybe. Days, if they weren’t lucky. There wasn’t enough time to evacuate an entire planet and not enough ships to try. Even if they managed, where would they go? The galaxy was already full of refugees, he’d seen them hungry and hopeless on the WSP-86.

He sighed, breath catching one of the tiny translucent birds that lived among the flowers as it flitted away from him with an almost inaudible trill.

“You can’t sleep either?” Chet appeared as if out of thin air, leaning against the doorway of his quarters, one pair of arms on his hips as he warily watched the little birds dart among the flowers. “It’s pretty, but doesn’t blending organic and synthetic like this make you nervous? I can’t shake the feeling this is too much like the Galra.”

Keith shrugged one shoulder, but didn’t answer.

“We helped them, you know. We saved people.” Chet said gently. “We stopped Serrac from hurting any more people and we gave them all a chance.”

“Do you think it’s enough?”

Chet’s face fell, but Keith felt no satisfaction in scoring that point. “It has to be.”

Keith had been telling himself the same thing since they left. It was cold comfort that risked twisting into threat. He must’ve fallen silent for too long, because Chet reached out, touching the tip of his chin with a gentle finger.

“Hey.” The Unilu murmured. “You wanna come in? It’s been a long day for me, too, and it would help… to not be alone tonight.”

Keith hesitated, waiting for something he didn’t dare put into words, waiting for _someone,_ but Chet was right there, and Keith didn’t want to wait forever.

Chet’s room was identical to his, but with both of them spread out on his bed, it felt a thousand times smaller. Chet wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist, drawing him in with an easy familiarity Keith wasn’t sure he shared. He was taller than Keith expected, his edges sharper somehow even if his smile was less pointed. Keith didn’t want to remember how different his last tryst had felt, but he did it anyway.

“I wanted to fight them.” Keith said, a confession he didn’t know he had the right to share. “I wanted to stay and fight. It feels like I’m always running.”

“I feel the same way.” Chet murmured gently. “What Serrac did… there’s no words for it, and he’s damned them all. We should be helping them, I hate just leaving them on their own and hoping they make it. It’s not fair. And I think. I think a part of me wanted to be able to save them. Not all of us Unilu are just pirates and thieves.”

It wasn’t fair, none of this was fair. The words struck a cord and seemed to echo inside of Keith. This was supposed to be simple, a villainous evil that had to be defeated and innocents that needed a hero to protect them. A war where the Galra were bad and the Resistance was good, and brave people from a hundred worlds banded together to save them all. Instead, there was mistrust and failure. For every win, there was a loss and no matter what kind of evil they faced, Keith felt like they’d lost something important at the end. His great journey had become a tangled emotional mess and Keith didn’t know the right way forward.

Chet offered him that simplicity he craved without running and without walls, no more pulling him back and forth until he felt like his heart would tear itself in two. Shiro was always looking for a way out, too controlled to let anyone in, but Chet wanted to stay and fight, taking on the risk.

“What do you want right now?” Keith asked.

“You.” Chet breathed out, eyes half-lidded, his cheeks dark with a purple blush, but Keith saw no shame in his smile. Just fragile excitement, like Chet wasn’t sure he was allowed that much, and the gentle hope of comfort. When Keith kissed him, he could taste it. The Unilu shuddered against him, rolling him into the bed with insistence Keith wouldn’t let go unchallenged. They kissed and kissed and kissed, hard-edged and desperate like they didn’t know how much time they’d have left, and when they pulled away Keith was lightheaded. Chet traced the curve of his lip, wiping the wet off of its curve, and let out a dirty chuckle. “Even if you’ll have to do twice the work, I’m not taking it back.”

Keith snarled through a laugh, but Chet held him still, one arm pinned above Keith’s head, while the others were left to roam the length of his body, touching with that same hungry insistence.

He wondered what else about the Unilu might be twice what he expected.

Chet made all of his intentions clear and Keith appreciated it, losing himself in something that wiped away the memories of the day or the turmoil he carried. They moved together with a single-minded focus, not bothering with tenderness. Rough hands stripped Keith bare so quickly his head spun as he tried to keep up with so many touching him and teasing him all at once. They didn’t waste time with words or laughter, devouring each other in a desperate need to prove they weren’t alone.

Four arms came in handy, especially when Chet pinned him to the narrow bed with one pair while the other spread his legs to trace between the sensitive skin of this thighs. When they wrapped themselves around him, Keith surrendered with a breathy groan.

He got Keith hard for him, murmuring greedy praise as he stroked his length, letting Keith fuck into the fist of his hand with an eager purr. Then he moved lower still, making Keith jolt with the first touch.

“You’re so soft here.” Chet whispered, nipping at the base of Keith’s throat, sharper than he meant to, and Keith groaned for it. He could feel Chet working him open, his fingers slick and wicked as they stretched him, filling him one by one and all Keith could do was bear down for more. Keith reached for him, frustration dragging groan from deep within his chest, and he tugged sharply on a fistful of Chet’s hair. He pulled him down to his level, kissing him open until he was just as impatient, just as hungry as Keith was for it, and Chet’s hands dug into the meat of his thighs, trying to keep his own focus as he took Keith apart.

“Can I put them both in you?” Chet whispered. “Wouldn’t want anyone to feel left out.”

There were logistics to  _both_  that left Keith with a flutter of anxiety mixed with excitement, even with Chet’s slow and skillful preparations. If things like this were going to keep happening, he might as well invest in some kind of guidebook so he wasn’t constantly taken by surprise. Next time, he might find himself in the arms of some hot being keen on laying eggs in him somewhere in the worst sort of misunderstanding.

“Anyone? They don’t have names, do they?”

Chet looked affronted. “Of course they do, I heard it was a common human tradition! I wanted to honor your culture.”

“Oh god.” Keith huffed a laugh, yanking him down into a kiss. “Don’t talk, just do me.”

The Unilu looked almost disappointed until Keith moved his hips demandingly and any protest died before it began. Even though Chet was careful, the stretch was more than he expected. He rocked back, working his partner deeper inch by inch as he was filled until he thought he’d burst. It  _almost_  hurt, just this edge of pain and utter satisfaction as Chet’s second pair of arms stroked his own cock until his hips stuttered, driving his partner on.

Keith was swearing, losing himself to the pressure that swelled through him then oh god Chet moved. He could feel him inside him, dragging through his body, smooth like silk and so gloriously thick, his entrance aching as the thickest parts of him left him gaping, and when Chet pushed back in, Keith screamed. Everything came back to him in sharp color, and the ship spun dangerously beneath his head. Chet took him apart again and again, pounding him into the mattress, his strong arms coming up to brace Keith’s hips, yanking him upwards as Chet knelt between his legs, all so he could push deeper, fuck him harder. Keith felt sweat pooling in the dip of his spine, every inch of skin prickling with obscene pleasure, and he hooked his legs around the Unilu’s waist, spurring him on like a work horse. When Chet groaned, Keith felt like he’d won.

“Are humans always so wet?” Chet rasped, squeezing his hand around the length of Keith’s cock and bringing it up for Keith to taste. His fingers were dripping with precum, and he smeared it across Keith’s lips before coaxing Keith open around them. Keith swallowed them greedily, mewling in sloppy satisfaction. He was completely overwhelmed and too tired to fight it.

He came like that, with Chet taking him from both ends and too full to complain.

Chet couldn’t last when Keith’s body squeezed so tightly around him. Cum spurted down the backs of his legs, dripping to the bed as Chet spilled deep inside of him, too much for him to hold. Dimly, Keith thought he might need a shower, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to walk again. At least his legs didn’t want to listen to him now and he didn’t resist when Chet curled behind him, wrapping him snuggly in many arms.

“That was, wow. I mean, wow.” Chet pressed a kiss to the back of Keith’s neck and earned himself a tired chuckle. Keith flopped gracelessly to face him, too tired to do any more.

“You really do have a thing for humans, don’t you?”

“Maybe I just have a thing for you.” Chet grinned, brushing a lock of sweaty hair back from Keith’s forehead. “I think you’re a special one.”

Keith couldn’t stop his smile, enjoying the warm feeling of praise and holding it close. The mess of the day was long behind him and here, in the arms of a willing, wanting being, Keith felt more human than he had in a long time. He had to remind himself that it was okay to connect with others like this, little moments of something he could hold onto when everything felt overwhelming. “I think you have bad taste.” He said, but there was no heat behind his words. He snuggled down against the Unilu’s chest, letting himself relax and drift, perfectly content to sleep like this. He could deal with showers and core muscles tomorrow.

“Maybe you should give me a little more time to prove it?”

“Hm?”

Chet gave him a small, vulnerable smile. “I was thinking at the next stop, I’d hop a ship back to Empyrea. The data is getting to the right hands, and I’m more useful on the front lines. I’d make more of a difference there. If the Galra do show up, they’ll need all the help they can get.”

Keith lay there in silence for a long moment, sleep forgotten. Chet wasn’t running away, he was running back, somehow that must be different even if it didn’t feel like it. He wouldn’t let himself be surprised.

Keith failed utterly.

“They could use you too.  _I_  could use you.” Chet murmured, pressing a kiss to his lips.

“Come with me, Keith. Let’s do this together.”

 

* * *

 

The ship never changed. It didn’t matter how many enemies Shiro faced down or how many blasts he almost took. It didn’t matter how many times laser fire nearly knocked them out of space, or how his shoddy engineering made the hyperdrive creak. In the end, the engine kept running, and the ship’s regenerative powers bandaged what he couldn’t. Perhaps it was no longer in mint condition, but it was still the singularly most powerful quintessence engine not in Galra control. So when he started hearing the buzzing, Shiro knew it wasn’t the ship.

Something was terribly wrong.

The smell of desert air and the heat of Empyrea’s sun were distant memories, but the buzzing had followed him since they took off. Faint but powerful, like the tap of footsteps in a silent room, it flitted in and out of his focus, sometimes disappearing entirely as alien pressure twisted behind his eyes.

Shiro needed to find out. He was wasting time in the mess area, staring at dinner he wasn’t going to touch and pretending to work. The med bay was just around the corner. He had no other choice, but part of him didn’t want to. He knew nothing good could come from learning the truth. He knew what he sought would only bring misery, but he knew that every moment he hesitated only proved his cowardice.

“Shiro?”

He hadn’t expected to be interrupted. The mess area had gone into its night cycle, and whether they meant to or not, the Freedom’s new crew had adapted to its pattern.

“Hey, Pidge. You’re up late, anything wrong?” All he had to do was look at her to know that it was. She was older than them all, a battle hardened Resistance fighter who knew how to handle herself during a mission. But in that moment, Shiro realized that she was younger too. She was drawn into herself, shoulders hunched around a blinking tablet, and face half lost in the shadows. Loneliness was a constant lesson among the Resistance agents and she’d learned that well.

“We’re losing, aren’t we.”

It wasn’t even a question, quietly resigned. She’d lost so much, Shiro knew how much pain she carried inside of her. He gestured her over and they sat in one of the low benches along the wall, ringed with delicate night-blooming flowers. She didn’t look at him, just clutched the tablet to her chest and scuffed her feet against the floor.

“You think we’re losing?”

“Don’t you?” She looked up at him with fear in her eyes. “How long have you been fighting, has it ever gotten any better? The people on Empyrea don’t have a chance. Neither did Kipo Lle, or… or Rover.” She swallowed hard, her voice shaking. “All for this, and was it ever enough?”

Shiro wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. “We still have a chance to help them if we see this through. I know it’s hard, but we both can’t give up. We’re gonna make it.”

“I’m scared.” Pidge whispered the admission, the words hard to say out loud. “When I think about tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after, I don’t see anything else. I don’t see anything other than this. You get up, and you fight, and you do it again because you have to. But when I think about any of this ending, I just…”

Her voice faltered, and the Quvari averted her gaze, gritting her jaw. Her nostrils flared as she took deep, steadying breaths. She wouldn’t let Shiro comfort her until it felt like enough. “There is no ‘after’ this, so I stop thinking about it. But I have to get up in the morning and do it all over again.”

Shiro swallowed thickly, but it wasn’t enough to dislodge his heart as it pounded in his throat. He kept himself together, but the effort made him feel like he was in a race. If he slowed down, even for a moment, the fear and dread that chased after him would overcome him, and he would never catch up.

“I’m scared, too,” he said, but Pidge swore under her breath, pronunciation so garbled the translators wouldn’t pick it up.

“Sorry, I didn’t come here to fall apart on you.”

“It’s okay to be scared. You’re not alone.” Shiro sounded so sure that tears gathered in Pidge’s eyes and she wiped them away angrily. “We’re in this together and we’re going to get through it.”

“Do you really believe it?” She asked.

“I have to. Everyone you meet and everyone you love, you carry with you. Even if you lose them, as long as you remember them, then they’re still real. Nothing about this is easy, but what we do matters and as long as there’s people willing to fight against what’s wrong or to defend the people who can’t protect themselves, then we can win this.”

She nodded, not entirely convinced, but it was hard to be a skeptic when Shiro was a true believer. If they didn’t think they could win, they would have given up a long time ago. She had to keep fighting, for her family and for Rover. She’d never forget him. “I feel better knowing you’re scared too.”

Shiro gave a sharp laugh and hugged her tighter. “That’s basically all the time. But how can we lose with this team, huh? I’ve been fighting on my own for a long time, it’s nice to have a crew again. With you guys, I don’t think the Galra stand a chance.”

Pidge snorted, and there was something bitter and jaded about the angle of her smile, a meanness that wasn’t directed at Shiro but she couldn’t quite shake. She still buried her face in Shiro’s shoulder, burrowing closer.

_“Rmjeeazz mfaarr...”_

Shiro’s breath came to a stuttering halt. Pidge hadn’t stopped speaking, her brow furrowed like she was trying to remember something, but all he heard was the crackle of static, like Pidge was chewing plastic by his ear. Shiro couldn’t move. He had to do something. He had to make it stop. He had to- “… so thank you. It really means a lot.”

The Koryu closed his eyes, exhaling deeply, and the soft lilt of Pidge’s words settled into a familiar timbre.

“Shiro, are you okay?”

He almost missed the question, but he brushed away her concern with a small smile. “Sorry, I thought I heard someone.” He gave himself a chance to recollect himself before he tried speaking. “And you know, we’re going to help you every way you can. All you have to do was ask.”

Pidge hesitated. Then the doors on the far end of the room opened, and the distraction appeared to divert her curiosity for the time being. Her concern was unwarranted. Serrac had been less than gentle with him. The electricity must’ve jostled something it shouldn’t have. He would know for sure if he checked, but there was no use in confirming he was just another damaged machine.

He just had to keep moving. He was fine.

“I’m going to get something to eat.” Pidge took advantage of Keith’s hesitation in the doorway to grab a round fruit from the pantry. “Thanks for the talk.” She said sincerely before heading back towards her room. As she pushed passed Keith and gave him a look full of silent meaning that left the man blinking in confusion at whatever message she tried to convey. Something between worry and the threat of bodily harm.

Keith watched her go, wishing she’d stay just a little longer and give him a buffer between him and Shiro, but she had other plans. The awkwardness settled between them almost immediately and only doubled when he realized how disheveled and comfortable he looked. There was no way for Shiro to know what happened, but Keith suddenly felt like he was wearing a blinking sign around his neck with all the intimate details. He didn’t regret the night at all, but that didn’t mean he wanted to share.

Shiro just smiled and stood stiffly. “I should head to bed too, it’s been a long day. I restocked everything with fresh supplies in case you’re hungry. Have more glassberries, they have a really short season so you don’t want to miss it.”

“Shiro, wait-“ Keith didn’t know what to say, but he didn’t want Shiro to run.

Shiro just didn’t want to wait. Not when Keith’s shirt was unbuttoned, and the long dip of his clavicles were darkened with more than shadow. Not when Keith looked at him like he was already sorry, and not when Shiro knew there was nothing he could do about it. This was a conversation he thought they should’ve had weeks ago.

Things had been tense between them, but Shiro’d told himself there was something worth saving. Even if he couldn’t have him the way he so badly wanted, being around Keith was enough. He’d just assumed that Keith had felt the same way.

But Keith had asked, and Shiro didn’t know how to deny him. He didn’t think he had the time left to learn.

“Is something on your mind?” It felt like he was on autopilot, filling another bowl to eat, building a meal with protein supplements and whatever was right to harvest. Keith watched him from the corner. Shiro pretended not to notice how hesitantly he took his seat. It was a courtesy he hoped Keith could give him.

As he neared, Keith quieted, his expression darkening with consideration. It was that same, overwhelming focus he had whenever he prepared for battle. Shiro couldn’t get used to being on the receiving end of it. It was as if Keith noticed too much.

“Have you rested yet?” The human asked slowly.  

“Soon.” Shiro said, managing a smile and deciding he did a rather good job faking its sincerity. “I need to finish calculating the jumps to Melemauna, this data is critical and needs to get back to Resistance leadership as soon as possible. We lost a lot of time, so I’m hoping I can calculate a more ‘creative’ flight plan to help make it up. It’ll be fine, I promise I’ll sleep once our coordinates are set.”

“Or you could sleep first and make sure you’re not making exhausted errors that’ll send us straight into the heart of a star.” Keith said dryly.

“Soon, I’ll be okay.”

“We heard everything over the comm.” Keith’s voice dropped, keeping the words between the two of them even if there wasn’t anyone else there. “I heard Serrac hurt you, you can’t tell me you’re okay after that. After today, I don’t know how you’re still standing.”

“Because I have to.” Shiro’s smile turned brittle around the edges, betraying him.

“What if you didn’t have to?”

The question was so unexpected, that all Shiro could do was stare, fumbling for an excuse that never came. Keith made it all sound so simple, and nothing was simple anymore. “I…”

“You’ve been doing this a long time, I get that. You’re the best at it, the Champion, hero of the blah blah blah. But I know  _you_ , Shiro, even if you try to keep me out. You lead the team, but someone has to keep you safe and-, and that supposed to be me.”

“Keith… You don’t owe me anything.” Shiro said, but it already felt like the wrong thing. Keith was watching him with sad eyes, the most startling shade of violet, and if Shiro wasn’t careful, he’d have him waxing poetic about galaxies and nebulae.

“This isn’t about debt. It’s been a long day, and if you want to be alone, I understand that. You don’t have to tell me everything, just- just don’t brush me off.”  

There was a weight to his words that Shiro wanted to read too much into. He resisted temptation, but he wasn’t sure how, didn’t know he still had reserves of self-control he hadn’t tapped, when giving in would have been so easy. The fantasy was sweeter than what he faced. Shiro was tired of wanting more than he deserved.

“It’s been a long day.” Shiro repeated softly. “If it’s okay…” He shifted across the bench, quietly making space for Keith. Shiro thought he caught a glimpse of a smile. Then Keith was pulling his dinner closer, until the bowl rested between them. It was the first time that day that Shiro didn’t have to remind himself to breathe.

Keith inched closer, just enough that Shiro could feel his warmth through his clothes, and Shiro closed the distance between them. It felt greedy to even try, but Keith leaned against his arm, unafraid (always unafraid, damn him) of metal and circuitry, and Shiro closed his eyes before it became too much.

“I’m sorry about today.” Keith whispered. “Earlier… I wanted to warn you, but I didn’t know how.”

Shiro closed his eyes, trying and failing to keep the images from rising in his mind. It hadn’t been the first time he’d seen one of his own kind in this war, far from their home and twisted into an enemy. Each time left a scar. “I appreciate that.” He said hoarsely.

“Was it alive? Chet says they’re just machines, but-”

“I don’t know.” Shiro flexed his hand, the metal moving smoothly as if it were real skin and real flesh. “The information that Knight found is important. His work may have saved billions of lives and changed the whole course of the war. It all depends on what the Resistance leadership says when we pass off the intel.”

“So he was right.” Keith looked troubled. “Whatever it takes to win.”

“No.” The answer was so forceful that Keith looked up in surprise. “Maybe we wouldn’t have gotten that information without torturing that Galra. Maybe butchering it while it was still active was the only way, but maybe it wasn’t. Maybe there was something else we could have done that didn’t rely on brutality and cruelty, but it’s too late for us to ever know now. We have to at least try.”

“Shiro?”

“This war is going to ask you to compromise who you are. You’re going to have to make decisions you never wanted to make, and do things you never wanted, but you can’t let it win. We’re fighting the Galra, sure, but this is a war of belief. If you let it grind the hope and the compassion out of you, then we’re no better than the machines. Or Serrac. We have to at least try to be better than the horrors we fight, or there’s no point to any of this.” Shiro was trembling, and he didn’t want to be. There was so much he’d already lost, and some days, he wondered if there was anything that separated him from the monsters he fought. But he didn’t want to be. It was the one fight Shiro could never afford to lose, not until the very end. “I have to believe that.”

It felt… arrogant, and naive in a way he hadn’t been in a long time, but if Shiro didn’t try, there wasn’t a point to any of this.

The expression on Keith’s face was unreadable, and even now, Shiro worried about letting him down. He was a broken relic in a war they were barely surviving, but Shiro had come too far for him to give up the battles he’d won.

Then Keith shifted closer, making their sides brush. It was like a reminder that he was still with Shiro. “So we keep fighting.” He said, and Shiro didn’t think he could get him to change his mind. With a quiet, faraway look, he added, “Chet is going back to Empyrea. He wants to help them prepare for the Galra attack. Evacuations now, fighting if it comes down to that.”

Shiro expected the wind to rush out of him, another physical blow when everything already felt like it was coming apart, but acceptance came with a hollow calm. That wasn’t his business anymore. Once he dropped Knight off at the check point, his involvement in his mission was done. He couldn’t force Knight to stay at his post any more than Knight could force him away from Melemauna, but Shiro could make sure this was a goodbye Keith didn’t regret. It was the last chance Shiro got.

“You’re going with him.” He was proud of Keith, no matter how it hurt. Keith didn’t need to know anything else. Shiro was angry, and tired, and wished for too much, but all of that ebbed and waned. “It’ll be hard on ground zero, but you’d make a good soldier. You could do a lot of good for them, I know it.”

Keith was silent, but his discomfort was clear. He’d thought that he’d been discrete, damn Shiro for always seeming to know too much about everyone. He thought he wanted this to test how far Shiro’s control would go, but the Captain’s smile hurt.

“You’ve learned enough from me to make your own way. You’re gonna be amazing out there, Keith.” Shiro said, letting the numbness in his chest console him. “I’m proud of you.”

“I’m not going.”

The careful mask broke, Shiro’s heart squeezing tight enough to hurt. He’d been preparing to say goodbye from the moment they met and now that it had finally come, he’d accepted it even if he wasn’t ready. But this surprise threw him and left him reeling, fear and relief fighting in his chest. It felt too much like hope, too dangerous and fragile for him to carry with him.

“What?” Shiro asked, the word little more than a breath.

“He asked me to go with him, but I’m staying with you.” Keith hesitated, his expression honest and painful, and when he spoke, his voice trembled. “We’re partners.”

Shiro took a shuddering breath, pouring all of his control into not letting himself break. Maybe humans did know that word with all of its unspoken meaning. He leaned into Keith’s space, letting the exhaustion win and trusting that his friend would be there to support him. A real partner. “Do you think you could just…sit here with me for a little while longer? Just a few minutes?”

“I’m here as long as you want me to be, Shiro.”

This time, Shiro really thought he meant it.

 

* * *

 

They left Chet on a quiet space station, just off the main trading routes. There was enough traffic going in and out of it that he’d have no trouble catching a ride to wherever he wanted to go. Keith didn’t know what happened next. There was probably another mysterious Resistance mission waiting for him, or maybe he’d make good on his word and find his way back to Empyrea. Keith kissed him one last time, on the open tarmac with both the whole world and no one watching.

Wherever Chet went, Keith hoped he’d be safe.

They boarded the Freedom and set a course for Melemauna. Keith didn’t look back.

He expected to have time on his hands to get back to his training. Pidge was already talking about heading into the engine room, ready to take it apart or put it back together. Keith wasn’t sure. Maybe it would be safer if someone kept a closer eye on what the Quvari was doing, but Keith didn’t think any of them could afford any more headaches. Shiro caught them just as they entered hyperdrive.

“If you guys aren’t busy, I was hoping you could meet me on the bridge.”

Something was off. Keith couldn’t put his finger on it, but Pidge shared a look with him that said she felt the same.

When they arrived, the panel windows had been drawn shut, left fuzzy like they’d been misted over. Every inch was covered in holographic data files. Whatever this was, Shiro was prepared.

“Shiro, what’s going on?” Keith asked slowly, but the spacer was uncharacteristically solemn, his mouth pinched into a sharp line.

“There’s something I have to tell you both. This mission is more important than anything I’ve ever managed, and we’ve been working as a team for long enough that I should start treating us as one.” The admission settled over them, giving significance to their meeting that Keith wasn’t sure he was ready for. “Pidge, can make sure Keith’s wrist display is properly secured? We’re going to need his help.”  
  
Shiro took a deep breath, his eyes screwed shut like he was trying to fight off a headache. Keith suspected it was happening more often than usual. He was worried even before he could be sure, but he was excited, too. Probably more than he ought to be. This was really happening.   
  
“We’re going to a Core world, Melemauna. Our contact, Stone, is going to be somewhere in the port city of Erul, that’s all I know, but this is going to be dangerous for all of us. No matter what happens next, we can’t fail.”

“A _Core_ world?! Are you seriously going to make us go to the homeworld of those horn-headed buttholes? You’ve got to be crazy if you think I’m stepping one blue toe on that rock.” Pidge yelped. “It can’t be that serious, what did the data say?”

“I’m sorry, Pidge. There’s no other choice.” Shiro left no room for debate. “Project Zero is missing.”

 

* * *

 

  _–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission—_

  _[Begin Playback]_

A woman sat in front of the camera, looking drawn and tired. Dark smudges were pronounced beneath yellow eyes and her calico colored hair was striped with white. Her offered the camera a smile and it was clear she was made for joyous news, but now her cheerful face was lined with sorrow.

“This is acting captain Naruhtito Airi, formerly the diplomatic officer onboard the Freedom. Not much freedom anymore.” She spread her hands on her lap, smoothing down the creases in her uniform. “There’s only three of us now. Our engineer, Yune - Shirodore Yune was… whatever this infection is, it drove him insane. He became violent, we had no choice. None of us had any choice.”

She bowed her head as a tear streaked down her cheek. “We didn’t have a chance to mourn him, we’re getting worse. Doctor Ryou thinks he can use Yune’s body to create some kind of cure, but the both of us are failing. Even Takashi is showing early signs. He hadn’t been taken by those creatures, we thought he might survive, but the wound on his arm bleeds with the same machinery as ours. Yune heard voices in his head before he went mad and I-, I can hear them whispering. It makes you want to let go…”

Airi wiped her hand across her face and looked back into the camera. “Without Yune, we can’t repair the engines and we can’t get help. We’ve managed to contact one ship out here, but no one would come near us with this disease. If we’re going to die out here, then I hope someone finds these words and remembers us. We were explorers, we were diplomats and scientists. We were people who had made mistakes and learned from tragedy to rebuild ourselves into something better. We were people who laughed and loved and tried to understand things bigger than ourselves. We may have failed, but we tried. We were a people who learned to stay soft and to honor compassion, even in the face of tragedy. We existed and we were real. Remember what we could have been. Remember Koryu.”

Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears, but she faced the camera with solemn pride.

“Please remember Koryusai.”

The woman leaned over and switched off the camera without another word.

_[End Playback]_


	9. Chapter 9

“Uuuuuugh, are you  _sure_  we have to actually go to Melemauna.” Pidge complained as the Freedom slowed, preparing to enter the planet’s atmosphere. “I’m sure we can meet Stone somewhere else, like, literally anywhere else.”

“You don’t want to see a Core world?” Keith asked, already pressed against the viewscreen to get a better look. He never in his wildest dreams thought he’d be in a place like this. The Core worlds were so far away from anything the people on WSP-86 could dream about. True safety.

Pidge made a face. “Are you kidding? Those blowhards in the Galactic Coalition hide their precious homeworlds behind their armadas while they leave the rest of us to face the Galra. The only reason they’re still in power is because they refuse to let anyone in or help anyone but themselves.”

“That’s really the reason you don’t like them?”

“Where were the Antalians when  _my_  people’s homeworld was taken, huh?” She snapped. “We were a founding member of the Coalition just like the Antalians or the Balmerans or any of them, but they turned their back on us! They blamed us and our technology for luring the Galra in, and when refugees ran here because they had literally nowhere else to go, these stupid stuck-up horn-heads turned them away and left them to die. They were more worried about their latest fucking art trends or what kind of designer outfit their popstars would wear on the galactic music circuit!”

She was breathing hard, skin flushed a darker shade of blue, and Keith put a gentle hand on her shoulder. She leaned into the touch, grateful for the contact as she slowly put herself back together, angry tears gathering in her eyes that she refused to let fall.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay,” Pidge answered flatly. “People care more about pretty, it turns out.”

She turned back to her console, a control panel she’d installed into the ship’s system to bypass the Koryu use of psychic energy. For the most part, her access was limited, but this time, Keith thought she was less interested in improving it and more interested in a distraction.

There was a brush of warmth against his side, and something in Keith’s chest unwound as Shiro stepped into place at his left. “It’s not all bad.” He murmured softly. “It really is beautiful. Even if the history’s ugly, there’s no place like Melemauna.”

Keith wanted to agree, but there was a nonchalance in Shiro’s tone that felt almost too complete. The human thought back to a time the Freedom had been in poorer sorts, stranded and damaged in the middle of unfamiliar territory, desperate for any sort of assistance. History had a way of staying with you.

“You’ve been here before?”

“Once, a long time ago.” Shiro shrugged, his hand curling into a fist. “A few times for work, more recently. Mostly on their northern hemisphere, out in the country. I’ve never been to Erul. Sneaking into Core World airspace with Galra tech is always a gamble.”

Shiro pointed to the far end of their viewscreen, where Keith could make out one of the large roving satellites that orbited the planet. They’d already avoided three. They got smaller the closer they got to Melemauna, and it had been easier than he’d expected, but Keith always fought the urge to hold his breath as they passed.

“Keith, look.”

They were coming up on the planet’s dark side, and away from its central star, the continents on Melemauna twinkled. The city lights were so close together, it looked like the planet was covered in diamonds, and Keith gasped in open amazement.

“What is that?” He whispered, eyes round like saucers.

“Keamauna, the capital, I think,” Shiro said, something warm and pleased settling over his tone. “Maybe someday, you’ll have the time to see it.”

Keith turned to him, frowning, but Shiro had moved back to the pilot’s seat. The Freedom lowered in a graceful arc, coasting on the planet’s gravitational pull. “All right team, we’re in the clear, and landing’s commenced. You know what to do. Stealth mode.”

Pidge groaned.

“Remind me why stealth mode involves so many laces?” She complained, waving her arms to prove a point, as she tried to fix the intricate knots with one hand before throwing up her arms and giving up. Shiro chuckled and helped Pidge with the last few ties before changing into a high necked, tailored tunic with matching pants tight enough that Keith had to look away. While Keith and Pidge’s arms were bare, Shiro ignored fashion to wear longer sleeves and gloves to keep his Galra infection covered.

“Because the only people going to Erul right now have more credits to their names than most entire colonies have.” Shiro said patiently. “And if we’re not going to get ourselves thrown out for being vagrants or singled out for a security check, then we blend in. Don’t worry, we’ll try to avoid the tourists.”

Keith snorted and plucked at his own crisscrossing straps, testing his range of motion in the restricting clothes. He didn’t ask how Shiro managed to have different sizes of some of the most expensive, up-to-date fashions in the galaxy. Being in the Resistance was a lot more complicated than just pointing a gun at a Galra. “We look stupid.” He huffed.

“Good thing everyone out there is looking stupid too, or we’d stand out.” Shiro teased as the door hissed open and the bright light of Melemauna spilled into the ship. Keith thought that after their last few stops, he’d grown out of feeling like some backwater bumpkin every time he stepped onto a new world. He was a seasoned traveler now, not some naïve sightseer from the fringe settlements.

He still wasn’t prepared him for the splendor of a Core world.

The city had been built on the bones of some more ancient civilization thousands of years in the Antalians’ past. Graceful rounded towers of crystal and silver wound around ancient ruins built of some warm, pink stone that gave the entire city an almost ethereal glow. Flowering trees draped across worn stone walkways and music carried on the breeze as impromptu performances sprung up on street corners. Everything was ordered and clean and safe. This was a world that had never seen war, protected behind a heavily armed fleet that even the Galra couldn’t face head on. The ocean flowed directly into the city, the deep violet of its water brightening into a shallow turquoise as it met the lagoon that sheltered Erul. Little boats floating on the still water, flags trailing behind them in a riot of colors. The water moved through the city like veins, canals winding between the buildings as delicate bridges of carved stone and glass mosaics crossed back and forth between the walkways.

It wasn’t until Pidge elbowed him hard in the ribs that Keith was able to stop gaping and look around the port where every Antalian had paused to watch them disembark.

So much for stealth mode.

“Focus.” Shiro murmured, but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, even as his eyes darted through the crowd. “Everyone stick to the plan. We didn’t come all the way here just to get kicked off planet by a paranoid customs agent.”

“The horn-heads sure are a big fan of that,” Pidge grumbled under her breath, but for the umpteenth time that day, she rechecked that everything was in place. They didn’t need to raise any red flags about Shiro’s unique ship.

“Thanks, Pidge. We just need to-” Shiro trailed off, his sharp resolve left wanting. Eyes squeezed shut, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, but his ears flattened against the top of his skull before he shook his head. It took him a second longer to catch his breath.

“Shiro?” Keith was waved off before he could get much farther.

“I’m fine. It’s just a headache.” Shiro said, not unkindly. Straightening his stance, he nodded sharply to his right. A customs official was coming through the crowd.

Keith could count on his hands the number of Antalians he’d seen in person. He was vastly under-prepared. The official looked nothing like Serrac Rho. Even Candy, with his careless grace was lewd in comparison to the willowy figure in an administrative uniform. His hair was sleek in three shades of darkening brown that reflected purple when it caught the light, and whenever he moved, the glass bells that decorated his polished antlers jingled like bird song.

Shiro held out his hand for the standard DNA scan, but the Antalian wasn’t interested in regulations. He twined his fingers around Shiro’s, the ends hardened into little points like a hoof, and pressed a kiss to the back of Shiro’s hand. Everyone stared.

“Welcome to Erul.” The customs officer said warmly, the little glass bells chiming softly as they broke the sunlight into a halo of rainbows around his horns. “We’re honored to have you join us for the festival.”

“Uh, thanks?” Shiro gave Pidge and Keith a confused look as the Antalian drew him across the landing pad.

“Please let me know if you would like a personal guide for your time in the city. We spare no expense for our guests.” He said with a wink that even Shiro couldn’t misinterpret. Shiro felt heat creep up into his face, ears twitching, and very gently pulled his hand free.

“I appreciate the offer, but we have to be going.” Shiro cleared his throat awkwardly, keenly aware that every eye was on him. He’d drawn attention the last time he’d been to the planet, but never like this. The dockworkers had stopped to murmur to each other, and Shiro swore he saw one elbow the other and snicker. Maybe it was a city thing? He gave the customs officer an apologetic half-smile as the Antalian pouted.

Pidge was there to save the day, tugging at Shiro’s sleeve to pull him away. Shiro went willingly until he jumped, rattled by a sudden and very personal pinch. He caught the Antalian’s smirk before they managed to escape the landing platform and out into the city.

Somewhere behind them, someone wolf-whistled.

“What the fuck.” Keith didn’t have time to mince words, taking in Shiro’s uncomfortable smile and the way the Koryu kept looking over his shoulder. “I didn’t realize Antalians were so  _rude_. They’re always so fancy in the vids.”

Pidge just howled with laughter, tapping furiously on her wrist display. “You know, there’s a few weeks every year where all the adult Antalians go through their mating cycle.” She said, wiping tears away from her eyes.

“Pidge, stop looking up alien sex stuff.” Shiro said dryly.

“I’m not! Well, I  _am_. Just look.” She called up an image on her screen as Shiro scowled in disapproval before finally sighing. The image showed an Antalian that had undergone the physical changes indicating it was in its mating cycle, putting on muscle mass and changing the color of its hair. Most notably, the tuft of white.

“Are you serious? I always knew Antalians were overly friendly, but it’s never been like this before.” Shiro poked his fringe self-consciously as Keith just studied the image.

“You know, this kind of looks like you?” He offered.

“Yes, thank you, Keith.” Shiro grunted as Pidge erupted into laughter again. “Just ignore it. Maybe I should wear a hat or something?” He tugged at his bangs and tried to smooth the white strip of hair back out of his face. “I don’t want us drawing this much attention to ourselves.”

They turned corner, and walked straight into the biggest holovid Keith had ever seen. It sprawled the entire length of a building, almost threatening to disappear into the clouds. On it was a long-legged, scantily clad model. Keith couldn’t figure exactly what they were advertising, but they were thick and shameless, the sharp line of their muscles deepening as the flexed, and between the horns on their head (short but polished) was a swathe of white fur that fell artfully into their eyes.

Pidge  _howled_.

On a completely unrelated note, they quickly discovered that finding a hat was difficult on Melemauna. Most Antelians would eat mud before they covered their antlers.

Shiro wasn’t handling it well. He tried to disguise it, but it became infinitely clear that any sort of investigation was going to be interrupted by some well-meaning or terribly blunt suitor trying to get his attention. His ears were perpetually flattened against his head, and every time someone approached them to talk, Keith could hear him growl in the back of his throat.

Then there was this guy.

Long and lissome and almost painfully handsome, the Antalian followed them in his hovercar, calling out through his open window and yelling that he wouldn’t mind showing Shiro every inch of the city, maybe more, as long as Shiro could take it. Keith didn’t know if it was the headache, or the sheer number of times they’d been accosted, but Shiro was withdrawn and unhappy, and the Antalian reached out like he wanted to hold him.

 _Keith_ snapped.

Without a hint of subtlety, he wrapped an arm around Shiro’s waist, tucking him against his side, and openly scowled at the heckler. “What my partner is saying, is we’re fine. Thanks.”

“Partner?” The Antalian frowned, looking Keith up and down like he was seeing him for the first time, and then he seemed to stop completely, looking up, over Keith’s head. Keith’s very empty, horn-less head.

“Did I stutter?” He snarled as the Antalian held up his hands to show he didn’t want any trouble and drove off.

Shiro sighed again. “Keith-”

“You know, this actually might work?” Pidge tapped her wrist display for more information. “If they think you’re already in a mated pair, it might… I don’t know, help reduce the attention?” She looked like she was going to start laughing any second, and Shiro studiously ignored her.

“Keith, you don’t have to do this.”

“Yeah, Keith. I can totally pretend to be dating Shiro instead.” Pidge volunteered as Keith’s arm tightened around his waist.

“If it’s going to help us get where we’re going without attracting even more attention, then I can fake it for a little while.” Keith said with a scowl as Shiro’s ears dropped almost imperceptibly. “C’mon.” He shoved his hand into Shiro’s and pressed himself close, claiming their shared space like he owned it. Shiro didn’t argue and, much to his annoyance, it actually seemed to work. He still caught the eye of almost everyone who saw him, but he’d watch them see Keith’s possessive stance and look away.

Shiro didn’t know whether to be relieved or humiliated.

Keith didn’t let go and Shiro didn’t pull away. He told himself that it was just another part of their cover story, but it didn’t stop his heart from racing.

“By my mark, our contact sent his message just up ahead.” Pidge kept her voice low.

“With any luck, we’ll be able to make the drop and be off-planet before nightfall.” Shiro said, grateful that talk had turned back to the mission. “We need to be careful though. With this many people around, it’s going to be hard to confirm anyone.”

Keith told himself that he was just imagining the enthusiasm in Shiro’s tone, and refused to think about why that bothered him. Together they turned the corner. And immediately froze.

The entire street was blocked off by a large fence, and behind it, what looked like miles and miles of tented pavilions, some as tall as the surrounding buildings and each competing to be the most brightly colored. Musicians and vendors alike lined the streets, and the sound of chatter folded over itself until it felt like the air was buzzing. It was almost a city within the city.  

The Antalian Festival of Sound

“This might be a problem.”

 

* * *

 

According to the informative holovids that lined the streets, the Antalian Festival of Sound was an ancient tradition that celebrated the universally-hailed qualities of unity and compassion with a uniquely Antalian rhythm.

Or something.

Keith didn’t really know, and none of that sounded right, because before they could even get to the security checks, a naked buck ran streaking past them, singing at the top of his lungs. Pidge immediately turned around and walked away.

“Nope. Not happening. Not even in another reality. You kids have fun.”

“Pidge, come on.” Shiro said, squeezing Keith’s hand like he was afraid he would leave as well. Keith had never heard him sound that way. So hopefully, earnestly,  _petulant_. “We need all hands on deck if we’re going to get through this.”

“I refuse.” The Quvari replied coolly. “You don’t need three people trying to pin down one guy. You do recon. I’m going to see if I can get eyes on the street, or narrow down who we’re looking for. That’s the one good thing about Core Worlds. Someone’s always watching.” She grumbled. “Even if they’re all goddamn colorblind.”

“Just be careful.” Shiro warned, but Pidge waved a hand dismissively and melted into the crowd. He felt marginally better. With Pidge at their back, at least the electronic eyes on them would be in the hands of an ally. Shiro had no doubt that she’d be able to get her way into the city’s security system, it didn’t seem like there was much Pidge couldn’t take apart and control. It wasn’t the first time that he was glad she was on their side.

“I think the last location of the signal was there.” Keith said, keeping his mind on the mission so he didn’t have to think about the way Shiro’s hand tightened around his own, or how they leaned in close enough to feel the heat from the Koryu’s skin. When a passing Antalian’s attention sharpened a little too much, he pulled Shiro down and stroked a hand through his two-toned hair.

“What are you doing?” Shiro startled, but Keith didn’t let go.

“Selling it. If we’re supposed to be a mated pair, then we’ve got to act like it, right? Aren’t  _you_  supposed to be the spy?” Keith said without even a smile, leaning in just enough to brush his lips across Shiro’s cheek. The Antalian huffed and turned away, the veil of anonymity closing around them. This was easy, he could fake it as long as they needed. He ignored the way Shiro seemed flushed and tongue-tied, pulling him through the press of people.

“You really don’t have to-”

“It’s an act, Shiro.” Keith ground out. “One you’re going to blow if you don’t stop complaining. There’s some kind of reception over there, it’s as good a place to start as any.”

 _An act,_  Keith reminded himself, when he could feel the way he shivered all the way down his chest, the way he hesitated before he leaned in to brush his cheek against Keith’s, as sweetly as any kiss, and Keith’s fingers twitched, eager to grab on tighter. He stopped himself just in time.

Then he realized he didn’t have to.

Keith wasn’t supposed to be this selfish, but opportunity opened to a heady recklessness that threatened to leave him mute. After so long, there was something vindictive about seeing Shiro so flustered and knowing he was the reason. The heat in his eyes, the deep flush that colored his cheeks, the way he sagged against Keith when Keith touched him, like he’d been waiting for this, wanting this just as much as Keith did.

No one even looked at him, not when the Festival of Sound had so much more interesting spectacle to offer, but for one brief moment, Keith let himself get lost. It was all an act.

Keith pulled away first, but he thought he heard Shiro whine.

He dragged Shiro towards the tents. It was a festival of sight as much as sound. Erul’s purple rivers were decorated with pinking foam that floated just above the surface, like it couldn’t decide if it was cloud or cotton, and people dove in without hesitation, laughing as they did. Wafting through the air were brightly colored bubbles that reflected a spectrum with more colors than the human eye could see, and when they popped, sweet smelling smoke escaped.

Keith didn’t think he’d ever seen so many people in one place in his entire life, and he was almost tired of being surprised. It took him a moment to realize that there was something off about the crowd. Pidge was the only Quvari he’d seen since he entered the city, and he was the only human. The only Unilu and Betrids around worked security in expensive suits.

When attention swung their way, Keith wrapped his arms around Shiro and pulled him to the bar, into a more secluded seat that seemed to be carved from a single piece of amethyst crystal.  

It was hard to remember that they were just pretending for the sake of the mission when he  _wanted_  this. When Shiro was too good at pretending that he wanted this too. They were friends now, they had that at least, but when he was tangled against Shiro, it was hard to forget that for one night, they’d had something more.

It would be cruel to lean in and steal a kiss when he knew that Shiro wouldn’t stop him. Crueler that he knew Shiro would like it. Keith didn’t understand why they had to keep acting like there was nothing there when they both felt it and this pretending felt more real than anything had in days.

“Hey there.” A low, melodic voice said from behind him and Keith turned to face a tall creature, covered in thousands of brightly colored feathers. “Could I buy you a drink?” Keith looked over at Shiro before he realized that the bird alien was asking  _him_  instead.

“The human’s already occupied.” Shiro said and Keith could swear there was a snarl in his tone. Strong arms closed around his waist and pulled him back, Shiro’s lips against his neck tickling against the sensitive skin until Keith relaxed and tipped his head back. The feathered creature shrugged and moved on, looking for another partner.

“I didn’t realize you were so possessive.”

Shiro snorted, but didn’t loosen his hold. “You’re the one who reminded me we’re undercover.”

“Right.”

Try as he might to avoid it, it was all too easy to sink into Shiro’s grip, turning into the soft lines of his body as the rest of the party moved around them. Keith had no idea how Shiro was dealing with this on top of his headache. Being here almost gave him one. Then Shiro started tracing his fingers along Keith’s side, drawing distracted semi-circles, and Keith’s thoughts derailed as quickly as a wheel-less train. “How are we supposed to do this?” He asked. “Go up to people and ask if they’re  _stoned_?”

Shiro wasn’t looking at him, but he cracked a smile. It was nicer up close. “Patience. You know we’ll figure something out. Focus, and all that.”

“We’re sitting in a giant stone chair, you don’t think this’s obvious enough?” Keith asked dryly. This time he got Shiro to laugh, and Keith felt shamelessly proud of that. Then Shiro gestured for the bartender to come over and ordered something fancy and expensive sounding that Keith wasn’t entirely sure he could pronounce. While there had always been places to get a drink on WSP-86, the stuff that was in his price range generally came out of someone’s bathtub.

“What was that?” He asked. Keith never liked feeling he was ill-equipped.

“A hunch?” Shiro tried to wave off, as he rubbed the space between his eyebrows, squinting hard like he was trying to read the fine print on the bottom of his contract, before he curled against Keith, exhaling softly.

“Is it bad?” Keith asked softly, genuine worry taking the place of any coy teasing. For a moment, he wasn’t acting as he slid his hands up into Shiro’s hair.

“It’s fine. It’s always a good idea to get electrocuted when your brain is turning into an alien computer.” Shiro said dryly, his breath catching as Keith’s hands curled around his ears and rubbed hard against his aching skull. His body relaxed despite himself, stress melting under Keith’s fingers and his eyes sliding closed in pleasure. “It’s okay, we can all get some rest after we make the hand off.”

“Somehow, you don’t strike me as the kind of person who ever takes a break.” Keith’s touch remained gentle and he watched as Shiro’s lips parted slightly.

“It should worry me that you know me well enough to say that.”

“If you stopped pushing everyone away, I might not be the only one.” Keith tried to sound like he was teasing again, pretending to flirt and maintain their cover, and failing.

“I don’t mind that you’re the only one.”

The words slipped out, a white-hot truth that burned them both and they jerked back. Shiro was the one who had put down the boundaries between them, just when Keith had started to fall for the man behind the walls. Now he was blurring them again, wanting just as badly as Keith and keeping him at arm’s length. This was some kind of trap, another glimpse of a  _could have, might have been,_  a lost chance that still hurt as badly as it did the night Shiro had turned him away.

Shiro cleared his throat and gestured across the reception where a woman saluted them with one of the drinks Shiro had sent, the glass carved from a similar whole block of amethyst like the bar.  _Stone_.

This was going to be a problem.

Keith wanted so badly to believe that he’d seen it all, but the moment she approached, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. There was an inborn nobility and easy confidence in the way she carried herself, like the rest of the reception couldn’t even touch her. She towered over him, but her smile was friendly and the gleam in her eyes as bright as the gold dust that decorated their corners. In a billowing grey and peach uniform, she looked like her feet never touched the ground, and on her chest, right above her second heart was a remarkable pin in the shape of a setting star, framed with three overlapping planets. The logo of the Galactic Coalition. Keith had never spoken to a Balmeran before, and he was painfully aware that he was staring.  
  
“I’m told I have you to thank for this.” She said, raising her glass. “Where I’m from, they say the stone is the central fixture that sharpens its flavor. Maybe there’s something I can get you, if there’s nothing you’re doing tonight?“  
  
Shiro smiled, sweet and open, but his arm never left Keith’s side. "Nothing set in stone, but I’d like you to be a part of them.”  
  
"Ambassador! Ambassadooor! Where’d you go?” A young Antalian called across the room, waving energetically, and their contact’s expression sharpened, the only implication that she wasn’t pleased.  
  
“I’m busy at the moment, but I’d really truly like to see you somewhere more quiet.”  
  
“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Shiro said, and he looked like he meant every word. Their contact turned back into the crowd, waving her friend over. Keith only exhaled when she was completely out of sight. Shiro was right there with him. 

“Holy shit, I can’t believe that worked.” The Koryu wheezed, his ears twitching so hard they fluffed up. “I thought her guards would jump me!”  
  
“What? Why? Who was that? I know,  _Stone_ but.”  
  
Shiro gave him a dizzily blissed look. “Ambassador Shay, representative of Balmera Prime.”  
  
Keith whistled long and low, spotting the entourage that was all too eager to return to the Ambassador’s side. “How did you know it was her?”  
  
“I didn’t.” Shiro looked too pleased with himself. “I sent that drink to three different people. Bartender thought I was nuts.”  
  
Keith snorted so hard, the woman next to them scowled.

 

* * *

  
  
They waited on the fringes of the Festival for Ambassador Shay’s signal. Pidge was eventually forced out of her hiding spot, but she grumbled the entire time. She grumbled louder whenever some overeager dudebro tried to talk to her, but Keith did the exact same thing.  
  
They waited and waited, but minutes turned into hours and the sky grew dim. It was almost impossible to tell because dozens of lamps went on at the same time, bathing the festival in warm yellow. Erul never had to sleep.  
  
It was exhausting.  
  
“I’m too old for this,” Pidge grumbled. 

“How old are you exactly?” Keith asked sourly, earning another scowl from Pidge.

Shiro let them squabble, it wasn’t ever malicious and after waiting so long, it would help them work out a little of their restless energy. They needed to get off the streets. Any longer and someone was going to become a little too interested in their group. It seemed like the Antalian security had all but given up for the festival, but that didn’t stop drunk, determined revelers looking to slum it with a human or try something exotic or unknown.

“Excuse me.” Another Antalian approached, her delicate horns etched with gold and decorated with tiny flowers made out of jeweled stones that caught in the lamplight and glittered. “I have a message for you.”

They all stopped, turning to listen with an almost wariness in case this was just another proposition. “Can I help you, miss?” Shiro said cordially.

She smiled and handed Shiro two slim pink tickets. “Her ladyship Shay would like to request you to join her at her private pavilion during tomorrow’s Concert of Begin. She hopes you will be able to make it.”

“Thank you, we would be honored to join the lady.” Shiro took the tickets and offered the Antalian a bow, trying to ignore the way his headache sharpened. The messenger offered him another smile, flirtier this time, and taking a better look at Shiro until Keith shoved his way under Shiro’s arm. She understood and bowed, withdrawing without another word.

“Tomorrow.” Pidge plucked the tickets out of Shiro’s hand with a sigh. “It’s never just simple, is it? Looks like the two of you have a date with this Shay person.”

“We should get some rest.” Shiro said as Keith stepped away, his expression lost in the shadows of the lamplight. “Pidge, did you find someplace for us to sleep tonight or are we going to have to go back to the ship?”

The Quvari snorted and crossed her arms like she was insulted. “It’s only the biggest, most famous music festival in the whole universe where people book rooms years in advance. Of  _course_  I found us a place. Super easy.” She snarked as Shiro gave her a look. “Yes, okay, I managed to find us a couple of rooms. They’re not the most luxurious, but they’re decently clean and they’ll work. I’m not sharing though!”

Shiro chuckled and shook his head. “We’ll figure it out.”

It was easier said than done, especially when Pidge wished them goodnight and slammed the door to her own room, leaving the two of them alone with only a single room to share.

“Um.” Keith said, very eloquently.

It shouldn’t have been a problem, really. It was a nice hotel. Maybe it wasn’t one of the exceptionally nice ones, because all those really had been booked months in advance, but it was easily the nicest place Keith had ever stayed in, complete with complimentary slippers that made his toes feel fuzzy. Except there was only one bed.

A spacious, cushy bed with a couple of expensive chocolates sitting on the pillow arrangement on its center, Keith had never had the option to sleep on anything so fancy before.

Shiro avoided it like the plague. He’d taken one, long look at it, then started taking the room apart, checking it for spyware. He checked everywhere but the bed. He finished by plopping down on the chair on the far end of the room and still refused to look at it. It sparked a sort of incredulous annoyance in Keith, and just to be petty, he threw himself on top of it. He immediately regretted it, because Keith never wanted to move again, and he didn’t think he’d ever been so comfortable in his entire life.

“We can order room service, and then get some rest. The Concert of Begin starts just before dawn.” Shiro said, and Keith’s translator lightened in pitch, just enough for him to know that some of the spoken words used held multiple connotations. The Antalian word for dawn was the same one they used for begin. Keith had no doubt that it was once very important to Antalian culture, but now, he guessed it was just the soonest that the Ambassador’s schedule allowed her to meet with them. She wasn’t wasting any time either.

“You can sit on it, you know.” Keith said as pointedly as he could manage, his face still shoved into the mattress.

“It’s fine.” Shiro laughed. It only sounded a little forced. “I’m good here.”

“Bullshit.” Keith propped himself up on his elbows and glared in Shiro’s general direction. “You’re in pain, I can see it on your face even if you’re pretending you’re fine because you _always_  pretend you’re fine. Everything you do is a lie.”

“That’s not true, I don’t lie to you, Keith.”

“Then tell me why you’re over there instead of over here?” Keith challenged him and watched Shiro struggle with to come up with an excuse with a kind of perverse satisfaction. Finally, he gave up and pushed himself to his feet, shuffling off to the bathroom with a sigh. When the water started, Keith tuned it out and let himself drift, too tired to worry about anything else. He could shower in the morning, right now he wanted to just enjoy the simple luxury of a clean bed and soft sheets.

The bed dipped and startled Keith awake as Shiro slid in beside him without a word, still slightly damp. He turned to face the Koryu, eyes irresistibly drawn to the map of intricate tattoos down Shiro’s body. Somehow, he knew this was an apology even without the words. Shiro was at his most vulnerable, his history and loss on honest display. Shiro was tense and waiting for Keith’s reaction, ready to retreat at the smallest sign.

Keith sighed. “Does your head still hurt?”

“It’s fi-…” Shiro stopped himself from giving the automatic answer. “Yeah. It’s gotten worse ever since we landed. I don’t think it’s serious, I’m just tired.”

It was more honest, even if Keith wasn’t sure if it was entirely the truth. A step forward, though it shouldn’t always be such a fight to get Shiro to admit it. “Let me help you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“When are you going to believe that I actually want to?” Keith carded his hands through Shiro’s hair again, rubbing his hands slowly against Shiro’s skull until the Koryu’s eyes started to close with relief.

Keith pressed in closer, and Shiro let him, until they were tucked against one another, damp spreading across Keith’s shirt. He felt Shiro’s breathing even out, the weight of him slumping in Keith’s arms. They shouldn’t fall asleep like this. The lights were still on, but Keith couldn’t find it in himself to complain, not when Shiro was purring.

Keith laughed, a little too loudly, and Shiro cracked an eye open, managing to look as annoyed as possible with just half of his face. “Wha?”

Slowly, lazily, Keith moved them under the covers, with Shiro helping as little as possible. “You purr.”

Shiro wrinkled his nose, face scrunching like he’d bitten into a lemon, his ears flattening against his head. “I do not.”

Keith just went back to petting him, but the way Shiro pinched his mouth together was incredibly telling. The Captain moved closer first, this time, draping himself on top of Keith with enough familiarity that Keith held his breath. He didn’t think it was possible to miss something he never really had.

“Do you like it here?” Shiro whispered, and Keith could’ve laughed, except he didn’t think 'here' meant pinned to a bed beneath his best friend.

“A little too loud for my taste.”  

“I wish you could see the glass geysers. It’s a lot more quiet in the ice sheets.” There was a longing in Shiro’s voice that Keith couldn’t ignore.

“It’s not bad here… I’m just really worried about  _it_.”  _Project Zero._  The room was clean, but Keith still couldn’t bring himself to say it. The single, most important message in their entire data set. If those were the only words Ambassador Shay ever heard, they could consider their mission a success. “We don’t even know what it is.”

A weapon, most likely. Something devastating and horrible, but he couldn’t say for sure. That required security clearance that even Shiro didn’t have.

“The Resistance will know what to do.” Shiro mumbled, groaning slightly when Keith’s worry caused his fingers to stop their wonderful pressure.

“You really have a lot of faith in them. Do you… do you have any idea what it could be?” He asked in a hush tone as Shiro cracked on eye open.

“Something bad. I never stopped being shocked at just how cruel the enemy can be.” He said gently, reaching out like he was going to trace the curve of Keith’s face and stopping himself just in time. “Whatever it is, we’ll stop it. We always do.”

“Yeah, we do.” There was a certain kind of reassurance in those words. Almost a promise. No matter what the Galra were planning or what Project Zero meant, there were people like Shiro who would stand up and make sure that it would never be used. People like Keith, too. The Resistance was bigger than he realized and much more powerful if the ambassador from Balmera Prime was a member. She must have been one of the most influential people in the Galaxy and she was working undercover, just like the rest of them. Like Pidge, like Chet too. Every part of this mission had given him a difficult lesson to learn, but there were always allies along the way to help.

“Go to sleep.” Shiro buried his face into Keith’s shoulder, soft and vulnerable. When he’d snapped at Shiro, he didn’t realize that things would go so far or that Shiro would be so honest. It left him reeling, aching for something he couldn’t name.

“You should get dinner first.” Keith tried to protest, but it was already too late. Shiro didn’t stir. As the Koryu’s breathing evened, Keith pulled the sheets up and over Shiro’s shoulders, holding on as tightly as he dared. In the morning, he would have to give all of this up. Their mission would take priority, and once they were clear of this planet, their disguise would be unnecessary and unimportant.

He would not have tomorrow, but he had tonight. So he waved the lights off, and settled his knee between Shiro’s thighs. With a careful hand, he traced down the swirling tattoos of his partner’s arm, stopping just above the place they disappeared into metal plates and wires before moving back up to his shoulder to complete the circuit. That night, Keith slept more comfortably than he had in weeks, and he dreamed of endless light and dazzling color, as a rising star rose above a dome of glass.

 

* * *

 

_[ No sign of Stone yet, maybe she slept in. ]_

Pidge’s message was just as cutting as the last three status updates. Keith couldn’t tell how much of it was directed at the Ambassador, and how much was directed at them for hogging all of the pavilion’s free breakfast. As a rule, Keith was never picky with food. He simply couldn’t afford to be, but the spread that welcomed them in their private viewing deck was so extravagant, it insulted him. Keith seriously doubted that the pavilion was meant for more than a dozen guests, and yet delicacies from every corner of the galaxy had been made available. It was amazing, and a little sickening.

A panoramic window on the opposite end of the room gave them the perfect view of the concert stage. Shiro stood in front of it, frowning out at the crowd. He looked concerned, or maybe it was just his headache.

Keith approached slowly, holding out a tray of what he thought were pastries but had been soft like sponge in his mouth. “You should try some of these. They’re pretty good, like chicken.”

Shiro turned, managing a small smile. “You said the same thing about the Toner Sprouts.”

“That’s because they did!” He said, shoving another pastry in his mouth.

Shiro wrinkled his nose and took one for himself. “I think there’s something seriously wrong with your taste buds if you think everything tastes like one single bland human delicacy.”

“I wouldn’t say delicacy, chicken is more, I dunno. Comfort food?” Keith sat the tray down and guided Shiro on a wide, comfortable couch. “How is this all so easy for you?”

“What do you mean?”

Keith gestured out at the scene in front of them. “All this! I’ve never even seen a Balmeran before and now we’re on a Core World with all the rich and powerful in the Galaxy pretending the war doesn’t exist, hanging out in a pavilion that I’ll bet costs as much as the entire WSP station, waiting for the Balmeran Ambassador herself because she’s apparently a  _friend_.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s easy.” Shiro said with a smile, leaning back against the couch. “I’ve lived on the front lines for the last ten years, I haven’t had much time to spend in places like this. Maybe someday, though.” A wistful sort of regret crept into his voice before he shook it off, ears twitching. “Someone’s coming. Antalians, I don’t hear the Ambassador.”

“Got it.” Keith was immediately on alert as a pair of beautifully dressed Antalians entered the pavilion. One wore tiny little clusters of silver bells on their antlers while the other wore bells of glass like teardrops suspended from wire almost too fine to see. They were the peak of fashion, chatting amiably with each other as they looked over the buffet.

“If we’re going to talk to Ambassador Shay alone, we need to get rid of them.” Shiro whispered.

“Good thing I have an idea.”

Shiro looked at him, his brows furrowed, but he didn’t hesitate to give Keith the reigns. He did hesitate a little though, after Keith took those reigns, and mounted Shiro like a horse, straddling him with his legs spread wide.

“Keith-”

The Koryu inhaled sharply, his ears perked to the very tip, and Keith gently stroked down their length. It left Shiro’s hair tousled, but it felt so soft between his fingers, he couldn’t really care.

“Do you trust me?” Keith asked, the first hint of hesitation creeping into his tone, but Shiro nodded, wrapping his arms around Keith’s waist and urging him in. Keith closed the distance between them with a sigh. It was soft, closed-mouth kissed that quickly turned into something far more filthy. Shiro hands slid up until the buckles of Keith’s shirt dragged up Keith’s belly and threatened to burst open, and Keith pinned him to the back of the couch, pushing harder, deeper until Shiro shuddered for him, letting out a strangled little moan. He yanked Shiro’s head back, forcing him to expose the long column of his throat, the taste of his skin like warm silk against his tongue. He could feel his partner whimpering, trembling against the length of his body, and as Keith pinned him down, he turned to glare at the Antalians.

 _Mine_ he said, without a word, blunt human teeth biting down on his lover’s frantic pulse, and when Shiro groaned, the Antalians beat a hasty retreat.

By the time they pulled away, Keith was shaking with adrenaline, and for the life of him he couldn’t stop smiling.

“That was a terrible idea,” Shiro whispered, his ragged breath fanning across Keith’s lips, his eyes glassy and gaze unfocused. His voice was so rough, Keith almost didn’t recognize him. “It’s the Festival of Sound. They might’ve asked to join in.”

“Then we got lucky.” Keith said breathlessly, laughter creeping into the edges. They were alone again, but time had frozen and he made no effort to move. Shiro’s hands still gripped his hips, keeping him in place as he looked up at Keith, flushed and disheveled and so fucking pretty. “I’m not really in the mood to share.”

He waited for the walls to come back up. Shiro was always the one to pull away and redraw the lines between them. Keith would be ready for it this time. What he wasn’t ready for was Shiro’s hand curving around the back of his neck, gently drawing him down into a kiss. It was slow and eager, but without the edge of desperation. Keith found himself sighing into Shiro’s mouth, lips parted to taste him as he chased after the touch. He rocked forward, catching Shiro’s quiet groan and swallowing it down.

They didn’t speak, gasping for breath as Keith felt Shiro growing hard beneath him. This was stupid and reckless, but all he wanted to do was laugh at the rush. There wasn’t any biological need forcing Shiro’s hand, this was him, was  _them_. He dragged his mouth down Shiro’s neck, sucking a deep bruise against his collarbone as Shiro’s body moved in time with his own. Nothing was going to ruin this moment.

A burst of static in their earpieces caused them both to jump and jerk apart in surprise.

“Pidge?” Shiro cleared his throat and tried to catch his breath as Keith did his best to hide his disappointment. “Pidge, you there?”

There was another burst of static, too loud to make out the words coming through the communicator.

“You’re breaking up, what’s going on? Have you found the Ambassador?”

She shouted back, a garbled mess lost to interference, but one word came through clear enough to understand. “ _GALRA!”_

Keith didn’t want to believe it. It couldn’t be. In that instant, he was trapped between his incredulity and blind hope, desperate for any sign that he’d misunderstood her in some way, but beside him, Shiro was stricken with horror. His hand was raised, caught in mid-motion like he’d forgotten what he was supposed to be doing. One honest moment of fear and painful guilt, that was all Shiro would allow himself. Then he was moving.

“My signal’s jammed. I can’t even request transmissions. If this is a full-scale attack, the entire planet will go dark in the next few hours. We have to find them,” he said, working through his wrist display. He’d already moved beyond the transmission screen and was looking up the source of Pidge’s last message.

Keith heard the words, but part of him wasn’t processing it. A Galra invasion, here, on a Core World, the last stronghold of the galaxy’s free people?! He couldn’t believe it. Yet he still wouldn’t let himself get left behind.

“Pidge was working out of the transformer a block down.” He said, and it felt like he was talking through a mouth full of cotton. He didn’t ask what he thought happened to the Ambassador. He didn’t ask if Shiro thought Pidge was still alive.

Shiro stopped, inhaling deeply. When he spoke, his voice only wavered once. “I can’t sense anything clearly. We’re going in blind. We don’t know if there are infiltrators in the population. Assume every obstacle is Galra. Understood?”

Keith didn’t know what was worse, an entire planet full of drones, or looking up to see a Galra destroyer on the horizon. “Understood.”

They hurried through the arena, dodging curious eyes and bewildered whispers with little care. When they burst out into the main street, they ran.

If this was an invasion, it didn’t seem like anyone else was reacting. The streets were full of beings from the Core Worlds and the rich, influential few who managed to secure a ticket despite the deficiencies of their species. Music still spilled out of other private pavilions and restaurants, a prelude to this morning’s concert. The city was still beautiful, still peaceful, and still celebrating.

Keith ran without looking back, just a few steps behind Shiro as they burst into Pidge’s secluded perch. She’d broken into the transformer with ease, setting up her complicated, home-made equipment to tap into the system and monitor the mission from a distance. It was supposed to be standard procedure, an easy lift for the tech genius, who was more interested in figuring out the security systems of a Core World than any festival. Her equipment was still scattered on the ground like she’d left it all behind, something they both knew Pidge would never do.

“Where is she?” Keith panted. “Do you see anything?”

Shiro looked up at the monitors helplessly. There wasn’t any indication of where Pidge had gone, just a view of the city from all the public cameras she’d hacked into. Early morning traffic was slowly making its way down the streets, crowds were gathering for the festival to begin. Everything looked in order except… “There!” He pointed at one screen where several figures lay motionless on the ground. “They’re wearing the Ambassador’s colors, they must be part of her private guard.”

“Shiro, look.” Keith’s eyes were locked on the screen, his meaning clear. One of the fallen was an Antalian, the decorations on its horns still shimmering in the light, but the wound to its abdomen showed a mass of mechanics instead of blood. “They’ve taken Shay, and Pidge must have gone after them!”

They took what they could of Pidge’s equipment, wasting as little time as possible. Then all finesse went out the door when Shiro walked up to the first empty hovercraft they came across and broke open the door. His Galra arm didn’t even need to fully activate. He bent over in the seat, reaching beneath the steering wheel, and the vehicle came to life just as Keith was settling into the front passenger’s seat.

Shiro knew where they were going. If Keith had to guess, he’d say the hotel they caught glimpses of in Pidge’s surveillance footage, and more and more it became more worrying that no one had come to clean up the slaughter yet. Shiro was backing out of the parking space. Flickering lights made Keith stop him with a startled hiss. “Shiro, look.”

On top of one of the skyscrapers was a large holovid projecting local news. A pretty young Antalian was interviewing one of the festival performers, but suddenly, his image flashed grey and peach before returning to normal. It happened again, and again.

Ambassador Shay’s colors.

Shiro cursed under his breath, but it sounded relieved, “Keith, can you find out where the station transmits from?”

“Hang on, hang on!” Keith frantically typed into his wrist display, trying to pull up a map of the city. The network was slow, the blackout already rolling in to cut them off from the outside and no one seemed to noticed. With a shout of triumph, he pulled up the address. “Go left!”

They skidded down the narrow streets, the side of the hovercraft scraping against the perfect pink stone of the buildings as Shiro threw his weight behind the wheel. The little vehicle wasn’t as responsible as his living ship, but he revved its engines to maximum and weaved in and out of traffic with dead-defying skill.

“We go in quick and fast.” Shiro shouted as Keith swore and yanked his safety belt tighter. The hovercraft came into a screeching halt in front of the glass atrium of the broadcast center. They’d been milliseconds away from crashing, but not a single person came out to greet them. It sent a chill through Keith’s spine.

Where was everyone?

“C’mon, if we’re close enough, I can get a fix on Pidge’s wrist display.” Shiro said, sprinting for the stairs. “If it’s Galra, we’re only going to have a few minutes. I…there, I’ve got her.”

“I’m right behind you, Shiro!” Keith yelled as the two vaulted up the gently curving staircase. The floors were empty and if Keith had time to notice, he’d have been worried as they burst into narrow hallways. He almost missed the sound of gunfire and felt the searing heat of the laser streak past his face. “Down!”

The pair dropped in sync, Shiro twisting out of the way as Keith rolled back to his feet. He leveraged the wall as a springboard, throwing his full weight on the Antalian that had emerged from one of the side rooms. They went crashing down as Keith wrestled the weapon out of his hands and back to Shiro. It was like trying to pry open steel and a swift kick sent Keith flying.

There was a single gunshot and the Antalian dropped, sparks flying from the ruined mechanics where its head used to be. Shiro watched it drop with a stony expression, keeping the gun raised in case there were others.

“Holy shit.” Keith felt the blood drain from his face, and he carefully peeked into the room it emerged from. Bodies littering the floor. No, not bodies. Machines.

He swallowed thickly. “How many of them?”

Shiro didn’t have an answer for him, but the doors on the far end of the room opened. They flattened themselves against the wall, weapons raised and ready for the worst, but when Pidge’s familiar face slowly peaked out, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

She froze, her grip tight around the handle of her blaster, her brow damp with sweat, and eyes wide behind her glasses. Then she threw herself at Keith, burying her face in his chest with a strangled groan, and Keith couldn’t hold on tight enough. It felt like his chest had been cored open, every breath coming in uneven gasps. The body count spoke for itself. Pidge had been surrounded and outnumbered. If they’d come just a little later, if her stronghold had been breached, it would’ve all been over.

“You came back.” Pidge whispered, her voice soft and gruff, weighed down with too much they’d never have the time to deal with, not during this war. Keith couldn’t hold on tight enough.

“Ambassador,” Shiro said, from somewhere over his shoulder.

“Champion.”

Slowly, Ambassador Shay emerged from the room. She was clearly shaken, her face pale with fear. This was not the front line she was used to fighting on, but she hadn’t let herself back down yet. “Pidge passed on your transmission, but we cannot stay. Melemauna has fallen.”

“What do you mean? If we alert central security, they can scramble their fleet and prevent an attack. Even the Galra couldn’t survive an assault by the full Antalian navy.” Shiro sounded so sure of himself, but Shay folded her enormous hands and pressed them delicately against her chest.

“I’m afraid it’s worse than any of us knew, Champion. We had no idea until we were attacked. This isn’t an invasion and we’re not dealing with a group of spies. They’ve already taken everyone. They infiltrated the whole planet, the Antalians are gone.” Her voice was heavy with sorrow as they stared at her in shocked horror. This was impossible, unthinkable. The Core Worlds were the backbone of the entire Galaxy, they were the only safe places. Nothing could touch them, not even the Galra, they were too powerful to challenge.

One of the most powerful races had fallen without anyone even noticing?

Shiro looked sick. “There’s too many.” He whispered, bringing his fingers to his temple. “It wasn’t damage, there was just too many. I couldn’t feel the drones’ signals, there’s  _billions_  of them. It’s all just noise.”

“The festival was a trap. We’re all here to be infected and sent home.” Shay’s voice caught, trembling in fear. “They killed my guards, I was going to be the first.”

“Shiro, what do we do?” Pidge looked up at him as if he could give her any answer to make sense of this fractured reality.

“We run.” Keith cut in. “We have to get the Ambassador off the planet, right? She has to get the information about Project Zero to the rest of the Resistance, it’s what we were sent here to do. We can’t save them if they’re already gone.”

Like Rover and the kidnapped people on Kipo Lle. Like Serrac’s mutilated children. Like all of the people on Empyrea. They had to run and pray that in the end, the mission would save more people than they left behind.

This would be the end of the Core Worlds. There would be no where left that was safe.

“Keith,” Shiro whispered, almost too softly for him to hear, “I need you to fly the Ambassador back to Balmera Prime.”

“Why?” The request caught him off guard. There was a reason there that Keith refused to see, no matter how blatantly it stared him in the face. Pidge stepped away to face their Captain directly.

“Shiro, you can’t kill them. What are you doing? There are more upstairs. There are more- someone probably called for back up already,” She hissed.

“I’m not going to fight them, but I can’t do nothing,” Shiro said, calm and precise, and painfully determined.

Keith still couldn’t believe he was staying. A rush of anger crawled through him, fueled by his own disbelief as much as Shiro’s recklessness.

But Pidge yelled for him. “We’re not going to leave without you!”

“Stop.” Sharp eyes met Keith’s, and Shiro’s expression hardened. “You know the risks. Nothing is more important than the mission. I’ll catch up, but I need you to leave now. Maybe the Antalians are gone, but this is as far as we can let them go. They have’t gotten everyone. There’s still time, we can still save them. I have to believe there’s still time.”

“Shiro.” A scream was building in Keith’s chest, banging against his rib cage. It drained the blood from his face, and stole the strength from his knees, because this couldn’t be happening. They weren’t going to leave Shiro on a Galra-infested planet.

But Shiro was certain, and Keith had never stopped trusting him.

“Be careful.”

Keith had always believed in heroes, but it was different when one was standing right in front of him. They weren’t going to lose anyone else. Shiro was going to find a way to save them all in the face of overwhelming odds, and when he smiled like that, Keith believed every word. He took Shiro’s arm, squeezing tight as the other man pulled him in for a hug that couldn’t linger.

And then he was gone.

“Come on.” He said hoarsely, turning back to Pidge and Shay. “We need to get moving before they find us.”

Pidge handed him a weapon from one of the fallen Galra and the three of them picked their way carefully down the stairwell, hoping that their luck would hold. Every Antalian was a potential enemy, a Galra just pretending to be alive. Every person they’d met, everyone that had flirted with Shiro or served them drinks, everyone walking along the streets or spilling out from the restaurants laughing and singing. They were all just computer programs mimicking real people, setting the backdrop of a planet-wide trap for the Galaxy’s powerful and famous. He’d never even seen the danger.

They tumbled out into the eerily empty streets, expecting armed enemies and finding no one. Keith raised his weapon with Pidge at his back. “Where is everyone?”

“The concert is beginning.” Shay said breathlessly, pointing to the giant screens that loomed over the city. The first sounds of music echoed through the buildings, bouncing through the pink stone.

“Then run!” Keith shouted, taking off through the abandoned streets. With everyone in the city at the festival, they might just have a chance.

They tore through empty streets, hot-wiring a hovercraft, this time with Pidge at the wheel. It was only at the interstellar port that they met any resistance. The main gate to the terminal had been dragged shut. From their position, they could see the Antalians in their watchtowers. What should have been an innocuous sight sent chills up Keith’s spine.

“Wanna bet they’re not going to be interested in our passports?” Pidge grumbled. Keith just frowned. “If we can get to the main security system, I can get control of all the gates and make sure they don’t bother anyone else.”

There was a joke in there about Quvari and immigration, but Keith wasn’t an asshole. Instead, he asked, “How do we do this?”

“We need a distraction.” Pidge almost looked grim. “I almost liked this car. Come on, Ambassador. Stick close.”

Less than three seconds later, their hovercraft flew at top speed, directly into the perimeter gate, exploding in a spectacular fashion and cutting through the barrier with vicious efficiency. Pidge, Keith and Shay watched from a nearby alley, hidden in the shadows.  

“Good going, Pidge. While they’re distracted, we can-”

“I got this.” She interrupted, tapping furiously at her wrist display.

“Wait, no.” Keith whispered furiously. “We’re already attracting a crowd, let’s go while the path is clear. We can’t risk the Ambassador.”

“No one can even see us.” She hissed back, setting up her remote transmitter. There was a limited range, especially with the blackout in place. “It’s only going to take a minute, I can make sure the path back is safe.”

“Pidge!”

“I got this.”

Antalian security forces gathered around the crash. Now that he knew the truth, he could see there was something off about the way they moved. They poured from the watchtowers in precise lockstep, almost clockwork, falling into formation without words or emotions like they were just responding to orders. Half a dozen spread out from the wreck, turning their weapons on the empty streets. Keith could swear he could see the yellow of their eyes.

“HA!’ Before anyone could stop her, Pidge lept from cover and pointed her wrist device at the Antalian Galra. She hit the upload button with a flourish and grinned wickedly.

There was a flash of light, a hit of recoil that Keith didn’t feel, but saw in the way Pidge braced herself. Then nothing.

The Antalians charged.

He yanked Pidge backwards, pulling her back into their hiding spot, and with a vicious snarl, Shay grabbed one of the parked hover crafts off the street and threw it at the group like it weighed nothing. It didn’t stop them all, but it tore through their ranks, and Keith didn’t have time to be grateful.

“Pidge!” He was yelling in her face, but she didn’t respond, her eyes wide in horror, expression twisted into a look of utter dismay. “Pidge snap out of it!”

She wasn’t breathing. All Keith could do was hold her.

“Pidge, please.”

Her hands balled into fists, and she pressed them against her eyes like she could punch through her own skull if she tried hard enough. A strangled, hurt sound twisted through her throat,  but she pushed herself to her feet, stumbling once. It wasn’t enough to bring her down. She grabbed her stolen blaster off the ground and opened fire on the oncoming Galra, and now Keith had to play catch up.

She howled in fury as she shot them down and within a few minutes, the Galra lay broken on the streets, bits of machinery smoking and burning. Pidge dropped the weapon from nerveless fingers with a shuddering breath, folding in on herself with a misery Keith didn’t understand. Angry, frustrated tears gathered in her eyes and she wiped them away before they could fall. “That should have worked!”

“What are you talking about?”

“It should have worked, it was supposed to  _work.”_ Pidge yelled, slamming her hand against her wrist display.

“Whatever it is, let it go. We need to keep moving. You’ll fix it later, you always do.” Keith offered quick comfort as Shay put a gentle arm around Pidge. He was brisk and dismissive, already scanning for any other enemies that might try to stop their escape.

Above them, the giant screens broadcasting the opening ceremonies for the festival flickered and went dark. The picture burst back into the screen, the camera angle tilted slightly and Shiro’s face came into focus on every channel throughout the city. Blood streaked down his cheek, lips curled back in a fanged snarl as the pulsing violet light from his Galra arm cast deep shadows across his face.

“This is a level 1 emergency broadcast.” Shiro’s voice boomed out over Erul, drowning out the sound of music. “Melemauna has been taken by the Galra, all communication off planet has been blocked. Evacuate, get out NOW! All Antalians have been infected, I repeat,  _all_  Antalians are Galra drones. Get off planet!-”

A violet whip wrapped around Shiro’s neck, crackling with dark energy that left him screaming. The camera angle swung wildly as a figure stalked across the room. With its purple fur and angular features, it was no Antalian, but the tech based armor and glowing insignia was unmistakably Galra. The camera toppled to the floor where the scattered remains of broken Galra lay staring blankly at the camera.

A roar went up in the city, growing louder. The sound of sheer terror as the gathered crowd reacted, scrambling out of their private pavilions and exclusive clubs in blind panic.

“They’ll stampede!” Shay snapped, her eyes wide with horror. Even at the port, Keith thought he could hear the screaming. Keith didn’t care. He turned to Pidge, grabbing her by the shoulder and spinning her to face him. He felt like there was acid in his veins, a ringing in his ears as his heart hammered in his chest, so fast and so hard he was sure it would give out.

“Get the Ambassador to the ship. If we’re not back in seven minutes, leave.” Keith might not that long. Already there were people running down the streets, the sound echoing through the city.

Pidge’s mouth twisting angrily. “You can’t go after him! It’s suicide!”

Keith didn’t care.

“Keith! The ship won’t let me fly it!”

If Shiro didn’t come back, none of that mattered.

 

* * *

 

Shiro gasped as the whip tightened around his neck, crackling energy screaming through his nerves like electricity. The Galra was laughing, he could hear the sound distantly, lost in his own racing heartbeat. With a feral snarl, he twisted his metal arm around the whip, skin pulsing with violet glow as he drained the weapon’s energy and yanked it free from his neck.

“You’re a drone!” The Galra said, sounding amused as he flicked the whip back to his side. “No, not a drone. You’re resisting us, how interesting.”

Shiro dropped back into a defensive stance, fangs bared as he faced off against his enemy. An  _elite_ , of course there’d be one here. If the whole planet had fallen, there must be more Generals to oversee their new troops. Billions of victims, just reduced to puppets dancing at the command of their masters. In his years of fighting with the Resistance, it was rare to come face to face with one of the puppet-masters of the Galra Empire. They were living, as much as a cyborg could be living, a horrific mix of organic and synthetic from a species that the Resistance could never identify. No one was sure if they were the cause of the Galra virus or its first victims.

He threw himself at his opponent, driving the Galra back as he used his arm as a weapon. The air hummed as he sliced and parried, his enemy dancing back out of reach. “I wonder why you haven’t succumbed, I’ve never met anyone who could resist before. It’s not a trait among your species, I hadn’t realized there were any of you that had survived.” The elite’s voice was cool and scientific, regarding Shiro as nothing more than a passing curiosity.

“Shut up!” Shiro snarled.

“Perhaps you’re enough of a curiosity to present at court, they’d love to take you apart and see how you work. They do love a good mystery.”

“Only one of us is getting torn apart here.”

The Elite clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “When you address me, you’ll use my full rank, Commander Haxus. You should know this, I know how much you drones crave subjugation.”

Shiro twisted, abruptly switching his assault. He pushed off the ground, pivoting against a nearby ledge, giving him enough leverage to slice across the pipes that crept up the ceiling and down the walls. The pressure shift set them rattling, spewing thick globs of grey gas across the floor and directly into the Galra’s face. Before Haxus could adjust, Shiro dropped down and kicked him in the chest, sending him to the ground.

“You talk too much.”

Haxus snarled. All at once, laser blasts exploded from the far end of the room as Galra reinforcements arrived. Shiro couldn’t duck in time. He was thrown across the floor. He wouldn’t stay down long. His claws dug into the ground, stopping his momentum, and he lunged himself at the drones, taking them apart with the weapons of their fallen.

He shouldn’t have left Haxus unattended.

The blow to the back of his neck sent him staggering, and a sharp needle stabbed deep into his spine. Shiro’s muscles locked up and he went down to one knee as agony washed through him. Haxus twisted the device as Shiro’s body bowed under the pain, arching back against the laughing Galra.

“Hush, it’s okay.” Haxus’s voice was almost soothing. “I know how frightening it can be for a drone cut off from the collective. Let me help you submit.”

Ice spilled through Shiro’s veins, the poison spreading its tendrils deep inside of him. It called the virus, reactivating the tiny synthetic infection and overriding the makeshift barriers that slowed its spread. It claimed him, flesh changed into metal and circuits. Shiro gasped, eyes wide and unfocused as his thoughts slipped sideways. Submission, it felt like such a relief. He could almost hear the voices around him, a planet full of Galra ready to embrace him as one of their own, and he  _wanted_  it. To lose himself in their thoughts and be one simple part of such a greater whole.

He barely heard the shout, a familiar voice tugging at his consciousness. He was knocked aside as Keith attacked, throwing his entire weight against Haxus with a blade aiming for the Galra’s throat.

Haxus stumbled, but he was already rounding on Keith, his whip in hand, spitting poison as the human approached. Shiro could barely keep track of it. Everything he could feel and touch and sense had been replaced with a bone-deep chill that left him brittle from the inside out. He knew, with blinding clarity, that he could make it all stop if he just gave in, if he closed his eyes and let them take him.

But Keith.

Where was Keith?

If Keith was here, if Keith was fighting for him…

Who was going to fight for Keith?

The world slipped in and out of focus, the pressure in his head and the buzzing just outside of it weaved in and out of his skull, interspersed by sharp stabs of pain that should have crippled him. Shiro had to keep moving. There was no other option. It took too long to get his feet under him, and time was running out. They could never find enough. Ahead of him, Haxus parried another of Keith’s hits, but when he looked up, he looked straight at Shiro and laughed.

Shiro hated him.

 _I’m not yours yet_.

It felt like Shiro was moving in slow motion, his body heavy and rebelling against his own command. He wrapped his metal fingers around the device in his neck and yanked it free in a spray of blood. The world lurched below him and his head spun, but Haxus’s shocked expression gave him grim satisfaction. The Galra elite grabbed Keith easily, sending the human crashing into the wall with bone-breaking force.

Shiro launched himself at Haxus, catching the Galra around the middle and sending them both rolling back to the floor. He struck and parried, twisting with an acrobat’s grace as the Galra couldn’t even land a blow. Shiro let Haxus chase him, spring back to avoid an attack and sweeping low to knock his enemy’s legs out from under him. Surprise was his best weapon. Elites weren’t used to rebellion. Haxus was overconfident and slow to adapt, and Shiro used it against him. He scooped the forgotten whip from the floor and wrapped it tightly around Haxus’s neck. Power flared from his arm, activating the tech and sending violet energy crackling down its length.

The Galra writhed and screamed as Shiro turned his own power against him, pulling tight as the smell of burned flesh and scorched electronics filled the air. With one last burst of strength, Shiro swung Haxus around by his neck and through one of the windows that shattered into thousands of razor sharp shards. Haxus flailed as he fell, hitting the stone street below with a sickening thud.

“Shiro? Shiro!” Keith was calling for him, but it sounded like he was under water. He tried to hold on, but his vision narrowed and his lungs constricted, drowning in metal. He never knew how they made it back to the ship. He was blind to the panic and the rush to escape, or the hundreds of crisscrossing streaks of light in the sky as ships blasted from the doomed planet. Shiro didn’t remember the frantic race through the streets, the crack of weapons, or the sound of screaming.

But he could feel Keith beside him and all he could do was hold on.

 

* * *

 

  _–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission—_

_[Begin Playback]_

“This is acting captain Shirogane Takashi, taking over for Ambassador Naruhtito. Ambassador Naruhtito is. She is…”

Too many years had passed between now and then, but it was impossible to mistake him for anyone else. The snowy tips of his hair hadn’t spread across his fringe, and the angry scar across his face was still bandaged and healing. He was tired and withdrawn, but with more honesty than he let himself feel as the last survivor of the Freedom.

He scrubbed his hands over his face. From beneath the right sleeve of his uniform was thick, tightly wound gauze.

“Her condition is deteriorating. She says she’s hearing voices now, Yune did too right before the end. Ryou thinks he can cure her. He thinks there’s a way to save everyone. He won’t stop fighting, and I don’t know how.” He quieted drawn in on himself for long moments that stretched on uncomfortably.

“He thought I might be different, I wasn’t infected by the rest of them, I was just stabbed by one of their machines in the escape.” Shiro held out his still bandaged arm. “It not healing like it should. There’s… It looks like a bruise, but its spreading.”

Shiro’s voice hitched, and his eyes squeezed shut. “I don’t want to die this way. I don’t want to die like this… I just want to go home.”

_[End Playback]_

 


	10. Chapter 10

“This is a bad idea. This seems like a distinctly bad idea. This idea should go back in the bad idea box and maybe I come up with something better to do?”

His frantic mumbling seemed to echo down the long service corridors that wound along the edges of the Balmeran landing terminals. Hunk didn’t seem to care. He was dressed in smoky silvers that were dotted with strategically placed swathes of peach and grey, his eyes dusted with gold fit for his status and his ears pierced with polished crystal. With his service bot following obediently, the elite of Balmeran Prime looked distinctly out of place down halls usually frequented by service staff, but not once did he lose his way.

He may have been an oddity, but Hunk was long accustomed to being different. Even though his position among the upper echelon of Balmera Prime was cemented, his soft skin and rounded ears gave away his heritage. One of the most high-ranking humans in Balmeran society, if not the entire galaxy, it took a lot more than a little trespassing to shake him.

But trespassing in a high-security military site might do it.

As he turned the corner, his service bot beeped.

“I know I wanted to see this, but is some Galra ship really worth it? A Galra ship with a real Galra pilot.” Hunk swallowed thickly, his voice gone soft and a little wistful. “We’ve never had a Galra ship on Balmera Prime before, what if it’s dangerous inside?”  

He reached the end of the corridor, his eyes gone wide as he took in the door to the security terminal. It was his last chance to turn away.

Suddenly Hunk’s own voice, from directly behind him said, “Entrance Code VE dash 49.”

_[ Recognizing Lord Hunk of the Fourth Division ]_

The door in front of opened with a graceful whoosh. Hunk gulped. It was too late now.

He crept through the empty landing pad towards the ship and Hunk marveled at its fluid shape. What looked like wood had been melted into graceful curves, its cockpit shielded by some kind of frosted clear material like glass. It was smaller than he expected a Galra ship to be. In fact, it didn’t look like anything he thought a Galra ship would look like. In his mind, they were brutally designed things for maximum efficiency and strength, bristling with weapons ready to rain terror down on some unsuspecting colony.

Though most would have thought it unremarkable, Hunk thought the ship was beautiful in its simplicity, and if there were weapons, he couldn’t seem to find any. It seemed built for speed, maybe for stealth. A spy ship?

“I can’t believe they got Shay,” he said, soft and sad, and still so clearly worried.

Melemauna was really gone. It seemed impossible, just another bad report of the war coming though the news vids, but this was so much worse. Melemauna was untouchable, the Antalians a fixture in the galaxy. Hunk couldn’t even imagine an existence without them. It made the world shift under his feet. Everything was slightly off and slightly wrong, and Hunk wasn’t sure it would ever be right again.

At least Shay was home. It had been so close, he’d almost lost her for good. She’d been saved, plucked from the fringes of Balmeran space on a Galra ship. It was an amazing story.

When his brother and Captain of the Guard of Balmeran Prime, Rax, had reported her found, Hunk had sneaked onto the private terminals in excitement. There he’d watched them drag the unconscious pilot away somewhere he wouldn’t hurt anyone even as the others of his crew argued for his release. They must not know how dangerous the Galra could be. The Balmerans weren’t going to make the same mistakes as the Antalians.

“We’ll be careful.” He reassured himself. “Just a little look. We won’t touch anything. No one will even know we’ve been there.”

His service bot was silent as Hunk carefully reached out a hand to touch the hull, running a shaking hand across the wood. It felt warm and he pulled his hand back in shock.

“Lord Hunk?”

Hunk yelped and spun around, his jewelry clanking. There was a sound of metal whirring as his bot did the same, and Hunk nearly knocked it over as he took a step back.

A tall figure in Balmeran army browns looked at them with open suspicion, and after a beat, took a second glance at his bot. All Balmerans were tall compared to him. Her hand wasn’t on her blaster, but Hunk glanced at her holster anyway. “This is a dangerous site, sir. We’re under strict quarantine.”

“Um. I know.” Hunk said, because, well, he _did_. “I just wanted. To… Check out the site for a briefing?”

The guard frowned. “We received no order from the Engineering Sect.”

“Yes. Well. Um. That’s because.” Hunk stuttered and stumbled, his hands folded in front of his chest, his thumbs twiddling nervously. “I must’ve forgotten to send it?”

He looked up hopefully, eyes wide and earnest. She watched Hunk cautiously but a slow smile inched across her face, shifting slightly and rubbing the back of one massive hand behind her neck. “You know, once the orders come through, I’d be happy to have you tour the ship, your Lordship. If there’s Galra tech on board, I can make sure to protect you.” The soldier was flushing a lovely shade of blue and Hunk ducked his head in embarrassment.

“That’s alright, I should just wait until the official order comes down. You know me, just really eager to get to work.” Hunk gave the soldier a wide faked smile as the service bot made a sound like there was something caught in its servos, metal grinding against metal.

The soldier jumped, giving the bot a nervous look. Service bots were simple machines and not banned technology, but Hunk was the perpetual engineer and had modified his mobile servant. It was vaguely human shaped, its body made of some smooth shiny polymer with exposed hydraulics at its joints. It was unnerving and she had no idea why someone like Hunk would want such an ugly thing following him around. Still, it wasn’t her place to question someone of Hunk’s status. 

“Is it… supposed to do that?” The Balmeran asked nervously. 

“It’s alright, might be something caught in its toaster mechanism. I was hungry earlier, I might have gotten some crumbs where they weren’t supposed to go. Let me go take care of this before something catches on fire. Again.”  

The bot started to tremble, it’s blank unseeing eyes somehow wider in the terminal’s bright lights, and black curls of smoke started rising from its depths. Hunk eeped and grabbed it by the shoulder. “I’ll just go!” He said. “I’ll go, sorry! Thanks for checking up on me!”

The soldier looked after them, partially confused, partially relieved, and Hunk didn’t stop marching until the safety doors whooshed close behind him. His bot was still smoking.

“By the stone, that was close!” He wheezed. “But she was nice, right? You don’t think this’ll get back to Shay. Or like, Rax. Urgh.” Hunk shuddered from head to toe. “Nice save.”

He needed to find a way to get a closer look at that ship. Galra technology was dangerous and forbidden, this could be his only chance to study it. Who knew what he could learn if he just had the time to take it apart and figure out how it worked? Not that anyone would allow him to if they knew what he was planning. His status as the adopted brother of the Lady Ambassador gave him a great deal of leeway, but his influence only went so far.

He walked purposely through the smooth tunnels that spiraled around the rest of the city. Above ground, the low rocky homes stretched out to the horizon, the gift from the Balmera to her people and in return, they cared for her. Balmera Prime, mother of all Balmeras. They were an old people, which had earned them their status as the most influential race in the galaxy. The Galactic Coalition had begun with them, a gift from the wayfaring ancient Alteans who came looking for the Balmera’s crystals to power their technology. In exchange, they offered a way to connect the scattered children of the Balmera and the colonists that went to care for each child, bringing all of the Balmerans together no matter how far they roamed.

That was thousands of years in the past and his people had grown, a network of peace and wisdom. They passed over the wondrous tech from the Quvari, admired the art of the Antalians from a distance, but their attention was always on home and heart and family. They dedicated themselves to simplicity and their home and their cities reflected that love. The buildings were low, smoothed stone adorned with flowers and plants and sparkling shards of crystal, everything the Balmera gave to them. They never carved the stone or forced it into shape, the Balmera itself choosing its layout.

Below the surface, the warren of tunnels stretched out for miles from small rooms and family homes, to great caverns. Deeper still were the crystal mines where his people tended the slow growing treasures that were so prized by the rest of the galaxy, nurturing each one until the Balmera chose to give it to her children.

She loved them as much as they loved her.

But Hunk couldn’t take the time to savor the sights of his home. The sound of harsh, angry voices carried through the stone and Hunk paused, his examination of the ship forgotten.

“After everything we did to help them, everything _he_ did… Never have come here… that Ambassador behind…”

Hunk froze, his head twisting around a puzzle he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to figure out. There shouldn’t have been anyone near this level. There had been an issue with stabilizers on its sublevel. No one would be back until the system was completely flushed, and that shouldn’t have been for another hour or so. That was exactly why _Hunk_ was here.

This was strictly a path set on by people up to no good, and wasn’t that all sorts of ironic.

“We gotta get out of here.” He said, trying not to grind his teeth together, and tugged on his bot’s hand, dragging him as quickly as he could through the corridor. And urgh, they needed to get Rax on the line. Security had to know that there were potentially harmful trespassers around, instead of the harmless hunk-shaped kind. Except when they turned the corner, everything stopped.

They came face to face with Hunk’s worst fears.

Hunk’s fears turned out to be shorter than he expected?

A fuming Quvari and a gangly weed of a human shouldn’t have been much of a threat, except they each held Balmeran military-grade blasters in their hands, and clearly they knew how to use them.

Hunk didn’t even have a minute to process the fact that another human was on Balmera Prime before the smaller man burst into motion. Hunk found himself dragged down, the human’s arms wrapped around his neck and the blaster digging painfully into his ribs.

“Whoa, Keith!” The Quvari put her hands up, startled. “What the hell are you doing?”

The human dug his blaster harder into Hunk’s side. “Whatever I have to so we can find Shiro. So how about it?” He turned his attention to his captive. “You’re going to show us exactly where you’re keeping him and then you’re going to help us get out of here.”

“Help who what?!” Hunk flailed.

Keith and Pidge had ignored the service bot, that was their mistake. The robot snatched the blaster from Pidge’s hands, slamming the butt of the gun into her stomach to knock the air from her lungs. She gasped and doubled over as the bot leveled the weapon at Keith. “Let him go!” The service bot _snarled_ , real rage in its electronic voice as if it could possibly feel anything at all. Like it was _sentient_. Its face was only vaguely humanoid, but its eyes were narrowed and it held itself utterly still, ready to shoot Keith at the slightest provocation.

“What are you!?” The Quvari gasped, only to have the robot stare at her with cold eyes.

“Your worst nightmare.”

Keith’s eyes widened in shock and horror as he realized the truth, but Hunk’s arms wrapped around him, pinning his own arms to his sides. The blaster clattered to the ground as Hunk heaved him off his feet and held him dangling in the air.

Hunk let out a sound that couldn’t be described as anything but pained. “Okay, that’s seriously enough.”

It looked like the Quvari wanted to answer, but she was interrupted by the same being that held her at gun point.

“Too much?”

“Just a little, buddy.” Hunk’s mouth pinched, before he turned to the human in his arms with a wary look. “Who are you? What are you doing here? Lance, send a message to Rax; I think these are the guys that took Shay.”

“We didn’t take her, we _saved_ her.” Keith snarled as he struggled in Hunk’s arms. “We’re the ones who rescued her from Melemauna!”

Hunk exchanged a suspicious look with Lance, but Pidge broke in.

“He’s telling the truth, we’re the Resistance fighters who got her out of there and sounded the alarm that let the festival-goers escape.” She said evenly, staring down Lance like she wanted to take him apart. “We risked our lives to save her from the Galra and you people lock up our friend because you think he’s one of them.”

“The guards wouldn’t make a mistake like that, if they picked up Galra signals, then there was a Galra.” Hunk said firmly, but he felt a small kernel of doubt as the man in his arms glared back at him.

“Do they know your service bot has artificial intelligence?” Pidge asked.

Lance jerked taller, scowling as hard as he could. “Whose intelligence are you calling artificial?”

“You know artificial intelligence was banned over 300 years ago by, oh yeah that’s right, the Balmerans.” Pidge drawled, never taking her eyes off of Lance. “You wouldn’t have figured out how to program him with actual sentience and free will, would you? That’s on par with the Quvari technology, it’s why the Galactic Coalition blamed us when the Galra came to destroy my entire planet. That was the Balmerans too. I can’t believe they’d let something like your little mechanical friend here run around the heart of Balmera Prime without doing anything about it.”

Hunk and Lance gave each other a panicked look, the gun wavering slightly in Lance’s hand. Pidge wasn’t done. She crossed her arms, looking at Lance with a critical eye, assessing his construction and trying to figure out what his programming must look like.

“You know,” she said “If the Balmerans were really worried about Galra tech, they should be worried you’re trying to recreate it.”

“What do you want?” Hunk asked, his eyes narrowed.

To her credit, Pidge only smirked a little.

“Oh for the love of-”

Keith twisted and squirmed until he could shove his way out of Hunk’s grip, breathing hard. He rounded on him with cold fury in his eyes, nearly trembling with impatience. “We want Shiro, and our ship, and we want to be as far away from here as possible.”

“You want us to help you break out a Galra infiltrator. You’re nuts.” The bot said, mechanical voice dryer than Hunk had ever heard it.  

“He’s not Galra!” The off-worlder protested. “Ask Shay if you need to. If you can’t help, then stay out of our way, or we’ll make this very difficult for you.”

Behind the human, the Quvari hadn’t moved, but it was the blandness of her expression that made Hunk wary. He didn’t like the implications of this conversation, and he liked being cornered even less.

“We want to see your ship.” He said at length.

Keith’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “What for?”

“That’s none of your business.” Hunk was adamant, but it was hard to meet Keith’s unwavering glare when Pidge kept inching closer to Lance.

“We don’t know where you friend is, but if we can figure out where he’s being held and show you how to get to your ship, will you let us take a look at it?” The offer was a dangerous one and Hunk felt sick at the thought he was betraying his people. If anyone found out he’d helped a Galra escape, it would be unforgivable. They would lock him up as a criminal and worse, he would have put the people he loved, his family and his friends, in danger. These strangers were sure their friend wasn’t Galra, but even if he was, wasn’t it better to get a Galra off planet and away from the Balmera?

It was out of his hands. The sharp-eyed Quvari gave them both a once over and nodded. “You’ve got a deal.”

 

* * *

 

The door to Hunk’s office closed behind them, a lattice work of crystal forming over the entrance, and Hunk immediately sagged against it.

“Are they gone?” He asked, for the umpteenth time, as his service bot flattened himself against the door like that somehow helped him view the external security feeds any better. All he saw were empty hallways, but he looked again, because the off-worlders were really small.

“Coast is clear.”

Hunk groaned like Lance had just told him they were surrounded by enemy ships armed. “This is such a bad idea. I can’t believe this is happening. We’ve got to tell Rax. Or Shay. Or both.”

He scrubbed his hands down his face, feeling painfully ill. The right thing to do would have been to alert security. The very safety of Balmeran Prime was in the balance, and Hunk knew just how much was at stake. Anyone who’d turned to Melemauna knew the same. There was only one good option.

But they knew about Lance.

Lance carefully tugged Hunk’s hands down from his face, the smooth polymer of his “skin” cool against Hunk’s touch. His optical sensors dark and wide, face narrowed, but Hunk hadn’t dared to make it any more expressive than it was. Things were dangerous enough and there were plenty of times Lance forgot that silence was the only thing that kept them safe.

“It’s gonna be okay, just calm down.”

“This is bad, this is so bad. Do you even know how bad this is?” Hunk babbled. “We have to tell Shay, there’s no way we’re letting a Galra out.”

“Even if we get him off the planet?” Lance asked quietly and Hunk just stared. “Oh come on, it would be the best thing for everyone if we just got him off the Balmera, right? And we can’t give up, we’re so close! Getting a chance to study their ship might give us all the answers we need and then we can-, I could…”

Lance stood there helplessly and he hated the feeling. No matter what they did, it was always the same. They had to hide. He always had to pretend to be stupid and empty and silent while Hunk got to actually _live_. He was tired of being left behind and always under threat that he’d be dismantled if anyone realized he was more than just a mindless service bot. That didn’t even begin to go into what they would do to Hunk. Lance was just tired of not being alive enough for his best friend.

“Can’t we at least consider it?”

Hunk quieted, and he took Lance’s hand in his, squeezing gently. The pressure receptors under his plating were far more receptive than anything a regular service bot would ever need.

He’d worked on Lance for a long time.

His central power core was the same one used in the android his mother had given him, back when he was first discovering his lover for robotics. His _human_ mother, even though Mama Gritan would always be his mother, too. Of course, the core had been augmented and supported a thousand times over, modified and strengthened until it was unrecognizable, but the most important parts were there.  

A twist of clever code, a genius’s luck, or something the stone had given strength, Hunk had no way of knowing. But he vividly remembered the first time he’d received a message from an unknown sender, someone claiming to be a boy on the other end of Balmera Prime. During a time when grief left Hunk lonely, even in a place with so many loving hearts, he’d appreciated the distance of a pen pal, especially one who was so funny and supportive. Then one day, his pen pal told him he was sorry because he’d lied to Hunk. The rest was history.

“Unless we find out where the guy’s being held, it’s a moot point,” Hunk said softly.

“We have to try, right? We can’t come so far just to give up. Galra tech can show us how to make me organic and then I’ll be real.” Lance smiled, feeling too exposed and tried to turn the mood back to humor. If you could turn your fears into jokes, then no one would know how much they hurt. “Besides.” He cocked a hip. “We all know I’d make the hottest human. We don’t want to deprive the galaxy of that.”

Hunk laughed like he was supposed to, but he knew Lance well enough to see right through him. He’d put Lance together, piece by piece, until something had slipped between the wiring and the programming codes. A heart, a soul, a mind, whatever it was that sparked his friend to life. He’d promised he’d help Lance be real someday, but that meant delving deeper into forbidden technology where synthetic and organic merged into one. Galra technology.

“You think we can just waltz right up to one of the guards and ask where the super-secret prisoner is being kept because we have a few quick questions to ask him?”

“I’m sure if you flirted with them, they’d tell you.”

“Lance, I’m being serious! There has to be another way to get close to the ship without putting anyone at risk. I know I promised, but this is too much.” Hunk put his hand on the stone wall, feeling the warmth beneath his fingers. The Balmerans would give anything to protect their living home and he was as Balmeran as the rest.

“Right. Of course. I wouldn’t get us into trouble.”

Hunk snorted, because that was a bold-face lie, but something in his chest still ached.

Someday, they were going to find a way around this. Someday, when the war was over, and the worlds were safe again, their chances wouldn’t feel so bleak. They’d waited long enough. They could afford to wait a little while longer.

“Come on. Turn on the ‘lofeed. Still a while before my next meeting.”

“You sure?” Lance asked. “It’s probably just more Melemauna stuff.”

Hunk shrugged, and once again scrubbed a hand over his face. This time the edges of his eyeliner smudged, but just a little. “Maybe it’ll help me think.”

At the very least, it would distract him from knowing he’d let his best friend down.

 

* * *

 

It was late by the time they made it home to the familiar caves and Hunk was exhausted. The whole city seemed to be in an uproar, frantic over the loss of Melemauna and Shay’s close call. Even the Balmera itself seemed upset, Hunk could almost feel its tension thrumming through the soles of his feet as he made his way home.

Things were changing and he wasn’t sure if he was ready.

Rax had managed to chase away most of the visitors and Hunk was grateful. His brother didn’t have the diplomacy and tact that made Shay famous, but there was no one better for getting things done. He filled a bowl with grub stew, but after a beat, set it aside. His stomach was too knotted to eat. Lance carefully reached out with one hand, just brushing his fingers against the back of Hunk’s. it was a careful gesture, one that could be overlooked or explained off as an accidental touch, but honed over years of silent communication.

“I thought you might already be asleep.” A sweet, gentle voice called out and Hunk smiled before embracing Shay in a tight hug.

“I should be saying that to you. Have you slept at all since you got back?”

Shay just hugged him back, tight enough to lift him off the ground. Hunk didn’t even complain. Everyone in their family had been picking him up for as long as he could remember, but they promised they’d stop once he stopped being the shortest.

“I have to manage. The stone will give me strength.” Shay was in the uniform of her station, cloak pressed and straight, not a ruffle out of place, but its partner scarf was strewn across the table, as if it had been thrown in frustration and dark shadows had taken up residence beneath her eyes. Hunk fretted. After being kidnapped, he thought his sister deserved at least one day off. Emphasis on _‘at least.’_

“What’s going on?” Hunk didn’t like what he was hearing. Every time Shay’s job gave her a hard time, the rest of them needed to brace themselves.

Shay sighed, as if that was answer enough. She pulled away, but remained close enough for Hunk to lean against, offering her the support the only way he knew how. “Members of the Council are calling for a second screening of all grounded Antalians, even our own citizens. They want to do invasive tests. They’re convinced they’ll find Elites among us. The Chancellor of Melemauna doesn’t have much political pull right now.”

She frowned, looking Hunk over, before she licked the tip of her thumb and tried to wipe away his uneven eyeliner. Any other time, Hunk would’ve protested, but right now, he thought she was grooming for her comfort rather than his. “It’s a waste of time and resources. We know what we _should_ be doing.”

“You know it’s complicated.”

She shook her head, her large golden earrings catching in the dim light. “It’s simple, Hunk. We can’t go back, hiding isn’t going to work anymore. If they can take Melemauna, then we’re next and I can’t get them to believe me.”

“You don’t really think that’s possible do you?” He pulled back in alarm and Lance gave a beep of distress, but Shay just watched him sadly. She was always the heart of their family, the one who saw the absolute best in people and trusted that at their core, they were good. She saw the galaxy with hope and beauty, it was why she was the only one of them brave enough to see other worlds. Sorrow and fear didn’t belong in her face.

“I think that if I were the Galra, I’d strike us now while we’re still reeling. If they take us down now, then the whole galaxy collapses in chaos. The other Balmera look to us for guidance, we’re the only ones holding the Galactic Coalition together. We should have started fighting a long time ago and now, we might not have a choice.”

Hunk’s throat constricted in fear and even Lance couldn’t comfort him. The Galra couldn’t come here, they were safe! All those news stories about the war had seemed so far away, a shameful tragedy that they all mourned and worried about, but far enough away that it didn’t touch them.

“We have to warn them!”

“I’ve been warning them for years.” She murmured, stroking thick fingers through his hair delicately. “They’re too afraid to accept the truth.”

“Then… then what do we do?”

Hunk didn’t like the way his voice sounded, shaky and uncertain. Shay watched him with open regret, even though she never apologized. War hadn’t touched Balmerans in generations, not since the Battle of Ancients, which cemented Balmera Prime as the central anchor of all Balmerans. There had been in-fighting among their people since then, their history was too long and too ancient to prevent it, but as far as Hunk knew, there had never been a direct threat on their home. The Galra were never supposed to get this far.

“We keep fighting.” Shay murmured. “It’s the only thing we can do.”

Hunk hated this. Even nestled against the heart of the Balmera, it felt like the ground beneath his feet continued to pitch and roll. He almost expected to see a Galra cruiser outside their viewscreen, and with uncharacteristic bitterness, he understood why the Council fought so valiantly for their ignorance. In comparison his problems seemed trivial at best, and he looked up, catching Lance’s eye in a piece of polished crystal. His friend never shift, never gave any indication he was any more than a standard bot; Lance wouldn’t while anyone else was in the room.

Hunk wished it didn’t have to be this way, but if Shay was going to keep fighting, she needed to know what was happening around her. And Hunk… Hunk would have to find a way to really start getting involved.

“Shay, there’s something I have to tell you.” At first, Shay didn’t react. Then Hunk touched his hand to the wall, and an extra layer of crystal closed over their front door, and suddenly her stoicism seemed more practiced than sincere. Hunk took a deep breath. “There were two off-worlders looking for the Galra captive today, a human and a Quvari. I would’ve gone straight to Rax, but they kept mentioning your name.”

She sat down on one of the stone chairs draped in soft blankets and sighed. “I tried to warn them about that too.”

“You knew?” Hunk gaped as Shay just looked troubled. “We can’t just let them release a Galra on the Balmera!”

“He’s not a Galra, not really. He’s managed to survive the infection. He and the rest of his crew risked everything to save the people on Melemauna, including me. You know I wouldn’t risk anyone if I thought he was truly a threat, but he’s an ally.”

“What if you’re wrong?” He’d been so certain before, telling Shay was supposed to relieve the burden from his shoulders. This wasn’t his problem, not his fight. He could go back to tinkering in his workshop and trying to find a way to make his best friend real, not dealing with the grey and shifting moralities of war.

“Do you think I’m a Galra?” She asked softly.

“No!” Hunk’s answer was immediate and fierce.

“You say that because you trust me, but when you’re afraid, people make terrible decisions. First they think he’s a Galra, then they wonder if he managed to turn me too. We become suspicious of everyone, we turn on each other and do the Galra’s work for them. When they come, we’re too divided to resist.” She painted the picture of their demise with quiet words, but Shay was never one to accept destruction. “Now, more than ever, we need to come together and to trust. We can’t act out of fear, we have to believe in each other.”

“I’m still scared, Shay.”

“I know, but you’re brave too.” She pulled him over and kissed the side of his head. “I need you to be brave now. The prisoner has information that needs to get to the Resistance fleet, it might just save us all.”

Hunk didn’t pull away, but his heart felt heavy. It was happening so quickly, almost exactly like Shay had said. They would loose the choice of fighting back.

“You’re really Resistance.” He didn’t mean to speak as softly as he did, and it wasn’t the first time he’d considered the implications, but they still hurt to swallow. His sweet, compassionate sister was aligned with the most violent radical groups in the galaxy. Depending on who you asked, they were as bad as the Galra themselves, if not worse. They were ruthless and blood-thirsty, and Hunk didn’t know how to make sense of any of this.

“I am.” There were no excuses. Shay didn’t even try to deny it, but Hunk almost wished she would. “I’ve made some decisions that were hard to live with, but… they were fighting back. I believed in that fight. Things have changed, but I still do.”

Some of Hunk’s inner turmoil must have shown, because she took his hands in hers and squeezed. “I’m not going to ask you to choose the same path, but if you could help me, just this once, I honestly think I could make a difference.”

She had the power to tear through stone and steel, and more strength than any human could ever hope to hold, but she’d never scared Hunk. None of the Balmerans had. Maybe Hunk didn’t believe in the Resistance, but he believed in Shay.

“Okay.” Hunk murmured, “Let’s do this.”

 

* * *

 

“This is such a bad idea.” Hunk whispered as they crept through the empty tunnels towards the diplomatic guest quarters where Shay had said the off-worlders had been assigned. A Resistance agent, she’d been a member of the Resistance for all this time? How could he have missed it? She pushed for the Balmerans to take more of an active role in the war, but she never advocated for something as risky as that. She’d been putting her life on the line all this time and no one knew.

“We could still go to Rax?” Lance whispered back, but they both knew that wasn’t possible anymore. If Shay was right, then they had to do something.

They stopped outside of the off-worlder’s doors, hands clasped tight. “They might still let us get a look at their ship’s technology?” Hunk said, trying to force a smile. “We could still see if they have anything that could help us.”

Lance smiled back. Hunk never gave up on him and that meant everything in the world. He was less pleased a moment later when the door slid open and the dark haired human almost walked out into them. They stared at each other in shock before the off-worlder scowled.

“What are you two doing here?”

Shay had been very clear. All they had to do was drop off the data, and the Resistance agents would handle the rest. Hunk still couldn’t believe Shay was supposed to do this herself.

“We’re here to help you. We know where your friend is now, we can get you to him.”

Keith’s eyes narrowed. “Why should we trust you now?”

“Listen, buddy.” Lance’s finger jabbed hard against Keith’s chest. “We’re going out of our way to help _you_ , the least you can do is appreciate it.”

That only made him scowl harder, batting him away. “If we wanted to lug around scrap metal, we would.”

Lance whirred, all self-righteous frustration trapped in a metal body. “What’s that supposed to mean!”

“It means you’re useless and you’re wasting our time-”

“Useless? Useless!” Lance returned with aplomb, jabbing Keith hard enough that the human staggered backward, and Hunk took a step forward, baffled at how quickly everything had gone awry. “I’ll show you useless!”

Keith didn’t know what he expected, but the service bot yanked open his torso panel hard enough the that the hinges squeaked, and he brought his hands up, bracing for impact. A gentle _shwook_ answered him instead.

Out of the bot’s chest were two piping hot slices of bread.

“Mhm. Toast.” Hunk snatched up a piece, enjoying the delicate crunch of it, the perfect ratio of browned and burnt. Keith just stared _._

Lance was unapologetically smug. “Can you do that?”

Someone cleared their throat behind Keith.

As one, they turned to the Quvari who squinted up at them with open disapproval. “How about we continue talking inside? You know, the place that I scrubbed free of spyware.”

Lance and Hunk shared a look before walking around Keith, letting the door close behind them, but when they passed, Pidge accepted the slice of toast Lance dangled in front of her glasses.

“You really gave your toaster AI?” She asked and Hunk just shrugged one shoulder.

“I got hungry while I worked.”

Pidge was frankly impressed. She ignored the way Keith and the robot kept glaring at each other, focusing on the task at hand. “We’ve been burned before. How do we know you really decided to help us find our friend now?”

“Shay told me she worked with you.” Hunk squared his shoulders, telling himself he was braver than he felt. “This is my home and I’m not going to let anything happen to it if I can stop it. If that means getting your friend out, then…” He held out his hand, a small data stick curled in his fist. “She gave me the coordinates to give him. I can do this.”

Pidge squinted at him closely before nodding. “ May we bloody shine.” She grumbled. “I’m Pidge and this is Keith. We appreciate the help.”

“I’m Hunk, he’s Lance.” Lance gave a bow at his name as Keith rolled his eyes at the showmanship. “Shay’s arranged for a meeting on how to handle what happened to the Antalians, it’s going to be a big deal. People are going to be watching from all over the Balmera. That’s our chance to get down to the lower levels and rescue your friend. She told me where they’re keeping him. Lance?”

The robot shook a little before projecting up a 3-D map of the lower levels on the floor, a blinking red dot over their target.

He only beeped a little when Keith brought the hologram closer, widening it across the room so he could get a better feel of the details. Unlike WSP-86, the layout of Balmera Prime was not only enormous, but built on a foundation of circles. It seemed every path worked into a spiral that lead towards other spirals. Keith didn’t like it. Its design made it easy for unwelcome parties to be cordoned off, and the Balmerans had been very clear about how they saw them. That wasn’t going to stop him now.

“This is doable. It looks like they’ve got Shiro in some kind of hospital.” Or a prison. Keith knew too well what isolated cells looked like. “You can go now.”

“What- no! You said we got to see your ship,” Lance argued, and the map wobbled when he did. He looked like he expected the same outburst from Hunk, but the Balmeran had gone quiet, meeting Pidge’s steady gaze instead.

“Were you guys really on Melemauna when they… when it happened?”

Pidge was the one who looked away first, unsure of where to begin. Something electric charged the air, a heavy silence like the breathless dread before a storm. It was Keith who stepped forward, but even his cool, dispassionate voice carried something of the horror.

“Yeah. If you know Melemauna, it looked… When we got there, it all just looked so normal. Beautiful, even. Everyone seemed like they were going about their lives and I, I’d never seen anything like the city of Erul before. They were all dead before we got there, smiling robots waiting for a chance to strike and I didn’t even see it coming. They must have been working for years to chip away at them from the inside. We couldn’t save the Antalians, there wasn’t anyone left to save.”

Shay’s words came back to Hunk, the fear that could tear them apart. No one would be able to trust each other, anyone could be a spy for the Galra.

“If you get this back to the Resistance,” Hunk said, holding up the data stick, and he was more surprised by the steadiness of his voice than the way his heart rushed and surged in his chest. “Can you save the rest of us?”

He didn’t expect Keith to falter, his shoulders dropping. Hunk had spent his entire life hearing how young he was, how there were still so many opportunities for him to take, but Keith couldn’t have been any older than him, and he’d never seen a human look so tired.

“I asked that once,” the off-worlder said, his mouth pressed into a thin line. “It’s never the answer you want to hear, but we keep going because it’s the best chance we got.” Around them, the holographic map flickered and faded as Pidge finished transferring it to her wrist display. They’d been banished to a gilded cage, but none of the luxury had been taken advantage of. It hadn’t mattered to them at all.

“The man we’re trying to save is… he’s the reason anyone got of Melemauna alive. He’s the one who helped us keep fighting, and if you can help us save him, I’d appreciate. If you can’t, please leave. We have work to do.”

If Memelauna could fall, who was to say the heart of Balmera Prime wasn’t already infected. Fear settled in Hunk’s stomach, but a new feeling burned inside of him. Anger. Courage. Defiance.  

No one was talking his home away from him.

Hunk decided. “Forget the ship, let’s focus on getting your friend free. If it’ll help my people, then we’ll do it.”

“But Hunk-” Lance turned to him, pleading not to give up on their plan. It only took him a moment to finally accepting Hunk’s decision. He buried his frustration and disappointment, ready to help his friend however he could.

“How.” Pidge asked, grinding her teeth together, but for the most part, she seemed more frustrated than angry. “Unless you have a way to get passed security, we’re going to be sitting around for a while.”

“Well. I kind of do.” Hunk said. Pidge whipped her head up so quickly, he had to shrug. “My family… Shay, let’s just say they’re used to me wandering around. If you’re ready, let’s go.”

The off-worlders looked dubious, but once they were moving, no one stopped them. _Lord Hunk of the Fourth Division_ really did make a habit of wandering.

Hunk had walked these halls a million times. He knew every twist and turn, every spiral, he’d explored every dark corner since he was a child. He’d grown up playing here where no one would see his best friend was a machine. Back when Lance had been small enough to carry in his hands, before Hunk had given him wheels to chase each other down the hallways, before he had hands to hold or a smile of his own.

The memories were built into the stone of this place, another living piece of the Balmera. They were all parts of one whole, taking care of each other. He was an adopted son of the Balmera, but this was his chance to do his part.

Lance stuck close to him as they detoured around the larger caverns to avoid running into anyone. Shay’s announcement would hopefully distract everyone long enough to get to the deeper levels and then it would be up to the Resistance. Hunk put his hands on the stone and paused, reaching out through the Balmera to see if anyone was up ahead. When the coast was clear, he gestured them on.

The tunnels grew narrower and less familiar, little used down this far. The Balmerans had almost no use for jails or prisoners, at least not for themselves. There always had to be a place for rowdy off-worlders who caused trouble. When military barriers blocked their way, Pidge took over as lead, and they crawled through orchestrated blind spots in the surveillance system until they reached their destination.

They found guards lounged in their control room, watching the broadcast of Shay on their screen and Hunk held his breath as they snuck passed. When Lance beeped softly to announce the right cell door, Hunk nearly jumped out of his skin.

But that was nothing compared to the jolt of blinding terror that greeted him from inside the cell.

The room was clean and hospitable, more a hospital room than a jail cell, set up to quarantine and protect. Colorful rugs draped across the floor to provide warmth and softness in the stone, a room at the back to privately take care of any needs. It was only the man sitting on the floor that was the true horror.

He was big, almost human looking, except for the dark ears that twitched with their arrival. His arm glowed a dangerous violet, the circuitry of the Galra infection spreading up passed his elbow to his neck, curling around the bones in his jaw. They scribed themselves deep into the skin of his face, pulsing with each heartbeat, the soft living flesh replaced with flexible metal and polymer. When he looked at them, a ring of gold circled the dark iris of his right eye, bright with its own glowing light.

He snarled, fangs gleaming in the light from his body.

“Shiro!”

Behind them one of the off-worlders gasped. That was the only sound they made before they went to work, the Quvari flattened herself against the wall, typing furiously into her wrist display, and Hunk just barely caught the way the cameras along their hall depowered. At the same time, Keith rushed for the entrance, working at the security panel with practiced ease. Gone was their teasing playful banter. The first time they’d met, the Resistance fighters had been armed with Balmeran weapons. Hunk realized he was seeing how they’d been able to take them.

Through the observation window, Hunk saw the prisoner tense, his fangs bared in a growl as he turned to towards the door as it opened with a hush of displaced air. The poisoned quintessence in his veins surged and waned, potential burning through and ready to strike.

But everything stopped on a dime.

His posture shifted, hunching and folding like he was trying to collapse in on himself, despite his bulk.

“Keith?”

That was all he got out.

Keith lunged at him, threw himself at the other man and pulled him into a desperate hug. He pressing against him from hip to shoulder, grip tight it must have hurt, but neither of them complained, tangled together and finally at peace.

Shiro was whimpering, soft and fragile like he’d been hurt, his ears flat against his skull, but he pressed his forehead against Keith’s in a gesture no one else could ever comprehend. Its sorrow meant nothing while Keith ran his hands down his back, making sure he was safe.

“Did they hurt you?” Keith rasped. “Are you okay?”

“No, I’m okay.” The man’s voice was rough, but he held Keith with such careful hands that Hunk felt like he was intruding on some intimate moment. “I’m gonna be okay.”

Keith ignored the infection and the danger, cupping Shiro’s ruined cheek in his hand. “We’re going to get you out of here, just stay close.”

Hunk nervously cleared his throat, earning a glare from everyone gathered. “S-sorry, but you need to go. You don’t have much time.” He held out the data stick with a shaking hand, his reserve of bravery almost gone. “The coordinates you need.”

The man looked at him with his terrible eyes and Hunk shook, even with Lance bristling beside him, but Shiro’s expression softened into a smile. He plucked the data stick from Hunk’s palm with his left hand, sizing up the human who had risked so much to help him. “Thank you.”

“Are you going to save the Balmera?” Hunk blurted out.

“We’re gonna try.” Shiro replied gravely and Hunk nodded, appreciating the answer. That was good enough and Hunk felt a swell of pride.

“Good. I can get you out to the upper tunnels and point you towards your ship, after that, you’re on your own.”

Lance muttered something under his breath and Shiro jumped, startled that the service bot response was so life-like. He barely had a chance to react before Pidge called out, the lights on her wrist display flashing a deep red.

“Uh, guys?” She said warily. “I’m picking up some kind of energy surge, I don’t know where it’s coming from.”

The air split with a screech of an alarm so loud that they all winced, hands clasped over their ears.

“Maybe that was it!” Lance groaned, electronic voice gone as loud as it could be.

“They’re initiating lockdown!”

Suddenly a blast of laser fire cut through the hall. Lance yanked Hunk to the ground with enough strength to make his side throb, but they missed another blast of power that cut so close, Hunk could smell the air around him burn. They scrambled for cover, but across the hall, they watched as the prisoner and human off-worlders got to their feet, moving in unison like partners in a dance. With horrifying speed, they tore through the corridor, launching themselves at the Balmeran guards they’d bypassed earlier.

As the guards fell one by one, Hunk choked on a scream.

It was over in an instant. The sirens still blared, and heavy metal doors closed around the entrance, but nothing stirred.

“By the stone,” Hunk whispered. He hadn’t moved, the air still crackling where laser fire had passed. He’d visited Rax at the practice ranges before. He’d attended the ceremony where his brother was sworn in, and he was no stranger to weaponry, but this was- it had taken them _seconds_ to subdue an entire squadron.

Hunk watched with bated breath as the prisoner crouched beside one of the guards, his hand around his throat, but all Shiro did was check the guard’s pulse, before relieving him of his weapon. He handed it to Keith, while Pidge jogged up to them to examine the door.

“Looks like they’re trying to block us in. Pidge, we need another way out of here.” Shiro ordered.

“On it!”

They were alive, that was something, Hunk kept telling himself. They’d wake up and be sore and bruised, but okay. He was doing this to save them, he wasn’t going to let them get hurt. Strong hands gripped Hunk by the shoulders and gave him a little shake, snapping him out of his panic. Lance’s worried face was inches from his own, the glassy black eyes whirring as they zoomed in on Hunk’s face.

“We need to go back! We’ve done everything we needed to, they’re on their own now.” He said, pleading with Hunk to come with him. “You have to get somewhere safe.”

“I-I can’t.” Images of broken Balmeran guards filled his mind. What if the next wave of the attack got out of hand? What if someone really got hurt or worse, and it would all be his fault. He had to keep them safe, but they’d never listen to him about letting the Resistance fighters go.

“They can find their own way to their ship. Hunk, come on! We’ve done more than enough.”

“If I can find them another way through, then no one has to get hurt.” Hunk but his shaking hands on the stone and squeezed his eyes shut. He poured everything he had into one desperate prayer, hoping that the Balmera could hear him. It was comfort he’d learned as a child that turned into a method of learning that helped him think at the best of times, when he’d pour his hopes and dreams into the stone to feel them reverberated back, in new and creative ways. He belonged to the stone, and the stone had always accepted him with love. Now he hoped for more.

_Help me save them!_

As the Resistance fighters spoke of strategy and escape, the ground beneath their feet rumbled. Off-worlders never noticed. Off-worlders always thought the stone was silent, no matter how clearly it spoke. They couldn’t miss it this time.

Even Lance gasped as the wall beside Hunk opened around him, forming a small shape, far too small to comfortably fit an adult Balmeran, but just the right size for Hunk to walk through without claustrophobia clawing at him.

“What the hell?”

“Hunk, what’d you do?” Lance was beside him, frowning at the strange new passage like he could stare it into submission. The questions hadn’t stopped. They wanted to know where that went, why it wasn’t on their maps, how Hunk had opened it, but Hunk couldn’t speak. Something struck him as he put his hand to the stone, something that reverberated deeper than his bones and his blood feel heavy and thick. An ancient, sorrowful moan, a pain that had been left to linger, even with so much love surrounding him. It felt like he was missing a part of himself, even as warmth and familiarity pressed in around from all sides, and Hunk didn’t understand it all, but he knew one thing for certain.

“The Balmera wants us to go.” His voice trembled, the corners of his eyes prickling with heat, a pain that wasn’t his own. They stared him down, each with varying stages of disbelief. Hunk would not be shaken. “She wants us to run, and she wants us to go now!”

Lance stood up straighter. Then his hands glowed with warm Balmera crystal, and as he stepped forward, the tunnel reflected his light. “Come on, jerks, this train’s not stopping for anyone.”

They ran, the stone whispering beneath their feet as if to urge them faster. Hunk put all of his trust in the Balmera. If this was what she wanted, then they were going to make it. They sprinted blindly around turns and up steep inclines until he was panting and out of breath, but they didn’t see anyone in their hidden escape. Wherever she was taking them, she was keeping them hidden.

The burst out into the sunlight of the surface and staggered, eyes trying to adjust. The familiar site of the landing pad greeted them with the Resistance ship still perched in its dock. Pidge gave a whoop of relief, grabbing Shiro in a tight hug before sprinting across the open platform towards their ship. Hunk slowed and watched them go, the hope of his people going with them.

They’d made it!

“Thank you.” He whispered, sure that somehow, the Balmera had heard him. Shay was going to never believe this, he couldn’t wait to tell her everything.

Explosions burst behind him and Hunk nearly jumped out of his skin. “Wait wait wait!” He yelled, holding up his hands as Balmeran guard ships powered up on nearby landing pads, ready to launch. “They’re not a threat, it’s okay!”

They were too far away to hear, or maybe they just didn’t see them. Laser fire burst near his feet and Hunk squawked, stumbling backwards. “Be careful!”

“We’ve gotta _move_ , buddy.” Lance said, hefting Hunk up into his arms and racing across the landing pad towards the only safe place out of the range of laser fire: the Resistance ship. They threw themselves up the gangplank just seconds before the smooth wood of the hatch sealed itself shut.

For a moment, Hunk couldn’t even breathe.

The world around them was surrounded by light, an entire ecosystem buzzing behind the unremarkable exterior of a small, economical ship. Lance’s arms tightened around his middle, but for once, his friend was speechless. Then they were thrown against the wall as the ship took off with a powerful flare. Lance’s grip only tightened, keeping Hunk in place with remarkable strength, his metal feet digging into the floor.

“Lance,” Hunk croaked, a pained, embarrassed sound he didn’t want to admit came from him, but his friend refused to let go.

“I’m here, buddy. I’m here.”

They were flying, really flying. Leaving behind a world that had loved them both when there was no where else to go.

And below the surface, in front of a crowd of millions, Ambassador Shay of the Fourth Division gave her speech with fire in her eyes and determination burning in her heart. Through the large glass windows in the ceiling, she watched a thin streak of gold arc over the sky and disappear, swallowed into the clouds. She smiled, turning back to her podium, hands on the stone to share her words with everyone on the Balmera.

“I know you’re afraid, but we won’t let that fear divide us. The Antalians living in our cities are not the enemy. They are brothers and sisters, our friends, and our allies, and we will protect them just as the Balmera protects all of us. The war is coming, but we are going to survive as long as we all stand together.”

She looked back up towards the sky. “There is still hope.”

 

* * *

 

 

–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission—

[Begin Playback]

Shiro looked worn, deep bruises under his eyes and thin, like he hadn’t eaten or slept in days. The first streaks of white colored his bangs. He stared at the camera silently before finally mustering the strength enough to talk.

“Acting Captain Shirogane Takashi. I-it…there’s only two of us now. Ambassador Naruhtito is dead. We-“ He swallowed thickly. “We had to kill her. She was violent, like Yune. Her insides were all metal, I-I don’t…we didn’t have a choice. We didn’t.” He said softly, though it was clear he didn’t believe his own words.

“She didn’t recognize us in the end.”

He fell silent, curled into himself ever so slightly, his expression left honest and vulnerable. “I wanted to say all these things about her, about how important she was, and how she was always, always the first one to talk to someone new because she was never scared. I wanted to do that for all of them, but I don’t know how. I don’t want them to be forgotten…”

He swiped at his eyes, but they were still left red rimmed. Then someone off camera made Shiro look up, and the ghost of a smile flickered across his face. He moved over as his brother joined him, the two young men wrapping their arms around each other.

Ryou was only a few years older than Takashi. They looked so much the same they could almost be twins, but the infection had left its mark on him, dark eyes ringed with gold that bled into the warm brown, metal traced with violet energy eating away at his flesh.

Ryou had always been Takashi’s future.

“It’s a nanovirus.” Ryou said to the camera, leaning heavily on his brother. “I think I’ve figured out how to slow it down, but I can’t stop it. I can’t fix it. I need more time.” His shoulders slumped and he shook, tears streaking down the metal of his cheeks.

“We’re going to be okay, Ryou.”

“I’m sorry I can’t fix this.”

They held each other tightly as Shiro reached over and switched off the camera.

[End Playback]


	11. Chapter 11

The world rattled beneath him, and all Hunk could do was hold on or he’d end up screaming. He had to get a message back to the Balmera, his family was going to be out of their mind with worry. He almost broke down, demanding they turn around and go back, but he knew it was impossible. He’d thrown himself in with the Resistance, even if he hadn’t meant it to go this far.

“Are you okay?” Lance asked quietly and Hunk nodded, trying to smile.

“We did say we wanted to get a better look at the ship, right? I guess we’ve got our chance.”

“As long as you don’t break anything.” Keith said dryly, his arm around Shiro’s waist so he could help the captain stand. “Pidge, can you make sure they don’t damage anything we need to live? Especially the robot thing, I don’t want it plugging into our systems.”

Lance bristled, squaring his shoulders for a fight when Pidge put a hand on his chest to stop him. “I can show you around and answer some questions. I’ve been studying the ship for weeks now. The coordinates you gave us show the Resistance fleet is close by, so there’s not a lot of time for you guys to check things out. You don’t want to waste any time, do you?”

Lance quieted, his features gone as blank as the service bots he’d been modeled after. He could still feel Hunk trembling against him, and he wondered now, what it must be like, to be detached from the stone Hunk cared so much about. He’d never been able to experience it, not in the way the Balmerans had, but the idea of it being torn away from his best friend seemed unfairly cruel.

“Are you up for it, buddy?” Lance asked, and he told himself he was ready to fight all of them if that was what Hunk needed him to do. 

“What’ve we got to lose?” Hunk shrugged, but he remained pressed against Lance, uncharacteristically unsteady on his feet as they followed the Quvari passed the engine room’s shimmering pools and deeper into the ship.

Keith didn’t care. He was pulling Shiro in the opposite direction. “You okay? How’s the infection?”

“Fine” Shiro murmured, his voice a practiced sort of dry. “It’s getting bigger all the time.”

Keith pressed his lips together, but even that couldn’t stop the small worried frown. “You must be okay if you’re making jokes about it.”

“Nothing a nap for the next thousand years can’t fix.” He said, only half joking this time. His joints felt stiff, flesh and bone meeting mechanics. It threw him off balance, he’d have to spend some time retraining himself to move to compensate for the differences. If there was time.

His ears swiveled, catching the sweet whisper that sounded almost like song, and his grip on Keith relaxed as he stopped to listen to it. They touched the lonely places in his mind where no one had been able to reach for years, it filled him, promised him more, and for a moment he felt like he was home again.

“-ro? Shiro?!” He blinked, shaking off the whispers as he looked down at Keith, his friend’s worried face pressed close against him. “You drifted off there for a minute.”

“Sorry, just distracted. I guess I really am more tired than I thought.”

Keith looked like he wanted to press, and Shiro found himself bracing for the inevitable. Keith knew better, but when it passed, it was a hollow sort of relief. This was too much. Keith had seen too much.

Yet for some reason, Keith was still here.

They reached the med bay, but Keith didn’t leave his side until he’d eased Shiro unto one of the cots. He turned away, letting Shiro sink into it, preserving what little was left of his pride. Shiro didn’t know how long it would take for that concern to shift towards pity, but he hoped it never happened.

“I have to check on the jump soon,” Keith said. It was the first time Shiro had ever heard him sound frustrated about flying, and he couldn’t help but smile. It didn’t fit right, like there was a plastic bit between his teeth. “Should I get your medicine?”

Keith looked so uncomfortable. Shiro pretended he didn’t notice.

“Why not.”

He tried another smile, tried harder to make it work, before inching towards the closest control panel. Any would do. This was one of the most secure safety boxes in the entire universe now. There were no other Koryu to open it.

The system reacted to his command, and on the far end of the room, the large display of contained biomes folded in on itself to reveal a small ice box filled with row after row of serum. At one point, he’d thought there wouldn’t be enough. It didn’t seem like that would be a problem anymore.

Keith hesitated. It was an unfamiliar look on him. Shiro wasn’t sure he liked it. Then he slowly pulled out one of the canisters, handling it with more caution than Shiro had used in years. Like back when he still thought he could cure the infection.

“How bad is it?” Keith asked.

Lying would be easy when they both wanted to believe anything but the truth. It took Shiro too long to find a vein. The poisoned quintessence didn’t show how deep the infection had spread or how much of himself had been changed. Shiro was almost afraid to find out. What was the point of a scan to track its progress? He knew he was dying. The only question was when.

He winced as he injected himself, waiting for the rush of relief as the vice grip around his lungs eased. It barely had an effect this time.

“Shiro?” Keith curled his hand over his own and Shiro felt himself leaning into his friend’s space, drawn by that irresistible gravity that kept pulling them together even when he knew he shouldn’t. 

“I can hear them.” The confession hurt worse than he thought it would. “I could feel the drones if I got close enough, but I never heard the voices before. Now they won’t go away.” Shiro looked at Keith,  Galra yellow bleeding into his right eye.

“But you’re still you. They haven’t taken that.” Keith sounded so sure that Shiro had to chuckle.

“I’m still me. I’m a little bit harder to kill than they realize.”

Beside him, the tech screen flickered to life, taking up the full right side of his bed, and Keith startled. It was the first time he’d seen the med bay fully active. They’d been lucky so far. Shiro had been luckier for far longer. A model of his form was being reconstructed. He almost told Keith to leave. One look at his face, was all Shiro needed to know that it would be a wasted effort, but as the image completed and purpled bled into the diagram, he wondered if he should have tried anyway.

Keith’s sharp intake of breath told him all he needed to know, and Shiro looked up.

The infection had spread across his torso and beyond his ribs. It scattered across his abdomen and ended just below his right thigh, but was more cruel across his upper body. One of his lungs was gone, its partner and his heart already partially transformed, along with the skeleton that surrounded them. Beneath his skull bled a mesh of purple and black, twisting into his brain, and this time what would happen if he fell apart? What happened if he lost control or lost consciousness, and everything unraveled and he couldn’t…

A hand curled around his left shoulder, squeezing tightly.

“It looks worse than it is?” Shiro tried to joke, but Keith pulled him close, the two of them just holding on against the inevitable. Seeing it was worse, it was clear how close he was to the end. He’d made his peace with death a long time ago, but that didn’t make it any easier when it was staring him in the face.

“How much time?” Keith murmured, voice hoarse.

“There’s no way to tell. Not long.” This was exactly why he had to stay away. It was easier to let go if he didn’t let himself get so close, he’d made that decision. He had to stand firm, now more than ever, but Keith was his friend. The closest one he’d had in a long time.  “I should go back to my quarters and get as much rest as I can. We’re going to need to stay focused when we get to the Resistance fleet, it’s been years since I’ve met up with them.”

Keith nodded numbly, helping Shiro stand. He refused to let go, arm snaked around his waist, and Shiro didn’t try to pull away.  

“It’s good to have you back.” He finally said.

Shiro smiled tiredly. “It’s good to be back.”

When Shiro moved into his quarters, Keith went with him.

 

* * *

 

The door to the bridge opened with a whoosh, and Lance had to smile. Even the  _ whoosh  _ was different in outer space. He hadn’t really expected that. Sure, he’d expected the ship to be more purple and… evil. You know, like the Galra. He still hadn’t thought about the whoosh. Maybe they had a more sinister whoosh?

“Is your friend okay?” Asked a voice by the viewscreen.

It was only the Quvari on deck. That was good. The weedy human was a pain, and the glowing not-Galra guy was just a whole mess of things Lance found it easier to scowl at. Both of them had been scarce since they got back on the ship, and it wasn’t like it was that big of a ship to begin with.

“He will be.” Lance reassured her with absolute confidence. “As long as the gravity keeps up, but he’s like, he’s got a bin beside him if he needs it again, but he will be! Nothing can shake Hunk.”

She smiled, and Lance decided he could like her. “Tell him he’s missing out on the view. We’re almost there.”

“He’s gonna be okay with the Resistance people, right? They’re not going to hurt him?” Lance was trying so hard to be cool, but he couldn’t hide his concern. Pidge nodded, trying to but the ‘bot at ease.

“They’re the good guys. I know we have kind of a reputation, but we’re really doing our best to help people. They’d never hurt him. I’m sure they’d even find a way for you to get back home, too. The whole kidnapping you thing was pretty accidental.”

“Better than being shot at, that’s for sure.” Lance shuttered one optical lens like a wink. “So uh…if maybe we didn’t want to go back right away, would that be okay too?”

Pidge cocked her head to get a better look at the lanky robot, surprised by the question. “I guess so. You’re not sure you want to go back?”

“No, I do. I definitely do. Someday.” Lance hesitated and put his hands on the glass of the viewscreen, looking out at the stars. There were more than he realized, he couldn’t see them all from the sky over Balmera Prime. “It’s just…it’s nice to not have to pretend. We always have to be so careful, if anyone found out about me, we’d be in a lot of trouble. I’ve never really had a chance to just talk to anyone else before or to go anywhere. Which is a real shame, cuz I’m a pretty cool guy to know!”

“Do you still have toast on you?” The Quvari asked, her face a mask of indifference.

“What am I, a heathen?” Lance let out a disgruntled sound, unfastening his torso panel. It came out piping hot every time. That would show her for doubting him, and when Pidge turned away, coughing oddly into her fist as she thanked him, Lance felt nothing but smug satisfaction. As if he would ever run out of bread.

Oh.

They probably couldn’t just stop by a supply store now, could they? Unless the Resistance didn’t have bread. He hadn’t really considered that.

This adventuring stuff was a little more than he expected. Pidge typed in a couple of commands on her control panel, and a chair came up out of the floor. Lance took it gladly. Sitting down, the stars seemed even more overwhelming. If he focused, he could compute the distance between each one, but his limited sensors strained to get proper readings. It was… overwhelming.

Lance never had his sensors overwhelmed before.

“How much farther?” He asked, and something about that made Pidge smile.

“The thing about the Resistance Fleet? You don’t find them. They find you.”

All at once, every alarm on the Freedom went off as it was caught in a tow beam. Lance shrieked, and Pidge burst out laughing.

He decided he could really like her.

Outside of the viewscreen, a fleet was massing. The ships dwarfed the Freedom, huge carriers for the fighter wings, ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. This was the heart of the Resistance, a guarded secret and their best chance for winning. If agents were the knife used against the Galra to pry lifesaving information free, then this was the hammer used to act on it. The ships were salvaged and stolen from a hundred different worlds, defectors, rebels, sometimes entire planets pledging their few resources towards the greater good when the Galactic Coalition couldn’t save them.

Even Lance was impressed.

The flagship held them securely in its tractor beam as it drew the Freedom into its landing bay. By the time the ship touched down and the airlock repressurized, the whole crew had gathered. Hunk held on to Lance’s hand in open trepidation while the robot seemed dispassionately curious. Shiro had joined them under his own power, the only sign that he was in pain was the slightly worried look Keith shot in his direction every few minutes.

The door to the ship opened.

Shiro stepped forward first, ignoring the gathered Resistance fighters with their weapons trained on his crew, and headed straight to the man in the middle of the circus. It had been years since they’d seen each other, but Quvari never seemed to age.

“It’s good to see you, Matt.”

“Champion, people didn’t think you’d actually make it back this time. You know, I won a whole lot of credits from the boys betting that you would?”

“One of these days, I’ll stop coming back. Just to piss you off.” His expression was pinched and tired. Keith would almost call it a smile. Shiro plucked out a data drive and handed it to Matt, months of hard labor over without ceremony. “The rest of this conversation, I think we should finish in private.”

A thread of tension had begun to unravel through the ranks, subtle at first, but it was back and taut as soon as he’d made his offer. Matt made the data stick disappear, unwilling to show any hint of surprise. “Unusual of you to ask. This one of those last wish things?”

“You’re not going to like what I brought back.” Shiro said easily, and took a step back. The entire hangar seemed to shuffle with him, guns and blasters in various stages of active. It was just as dramatic as Shiro thought it would be.  

“Or should I say,  _ who _ .”

Standing at the back of the group, flanked as if by her body guards, Pidge stood proudly, her lips quirked in a daring smile. “Hi Matty. Long time no see.”

It was a day that would go down in infamy, Shiro thought. The day the Resistance watched their esteemed leader lose his shit.

“KATIE!”

The cool, aloof stance Pidge had tried so hard to emulate fell apart as she raced across the hangar bay to throw herself into her brother’s arms. Matt swept her up with a cry, hugging her close as he looked almost helplessly at Shiro. “How?”

“I found her on Kipo Lle, she was one of my contacts. Makes a mean argument, too.” Shiro teased as Matt carefully set his little sister down, checking her over as if looking for wounds.

“ _ Kipo Lle _ ?” He breathed. “What were you doing? You’re not supposed to be involved with the Resistance, you should be home where it’s safe?”

“Safe? C’mon, Matt.” Pidge pulled away with a frown. “I’ve been with the Resistance for years. I’m not some kid anymore! I knew if I waited long enough and made enough contacts, I’d be able to find you again. Rover and I knew we were close, and it’s big this time. The info we brought, it’s a game changer.”

“I’ll look at it later, right now I want you to rest and get something to eat.” Matt said in a firm voice. “As soon as I can spare someone, I’m going to have them bring you back home.”

Pidge huffed in annoyance, looking back at her crew and thinking about everything they’d sacrificed to get this far. And everyone. “No, no, no. You’re not understanding me, Matty. That info is on a weapon that can tear everything apart. I came here to get your help on their virus, I’ve been working on it since you left and I know I’m close. I just need your help! We can stop this Project Zero thing.”

She sounded so sure, so hopeful. She’d traveled across half the galaxy and hunted for years to find him, knowing that her brother was the only one who could help her unravel their parents’ work, a virus that should have been their salvation. She hadn’t been expecting the way he pulled away, anger clouding his eyes. “Absolutely not.”

“Why!”

Shiro cleared his throat.

The Quvari siblings turned towards him as one, sharing an identical look of frustration, and it would have been funny, if they hadn’t had the attention of the entire hangar. “Like I said, somewhere private.”

“Fine.” Matt replied through gritted teeth, giving the group an unflattering once-over. “I’m not related to anyone else, am I?”

“We are all one with the Light.” Shiro replied blandly. Matt wasn’t even slightly impressed.

They were lead deep into the bowels of the ship, through long winding corridors that only ever seemed to hold soldiers. People recognized Shiro. The more composed ones greeted him as one of their own, though from a distance. The rest stared without shame. Even here, they were oddities. Keith stared back, an open challenge for anyone who dared take it. No one stopped them until they reached a well-fortified office. Matt’s private station.

Pidge pounced the moment the door was closed. “What do you mean no?! The foundation’s all there, I just need-”

“Who are they?” Matt interrupted, sharp and clipped, just as ready to fend off the interrogation. The Champion was left to bear the brunt of their argument, and both siblings tried to stare Shiro down to gain headway. Shiro just looked tired.

“Lord Hunk of the Fourth Division, and his companion, Lance.”

Matt snorted. “Great. Guess we started an incident with Balmera Prime. Maybe this time they’ll actually do something.” His expression lightened, almost daring them to interrupt. “And the human?”

“Keith. My co-pilot.”

Keith stared back without moving, trying to act like he belonged there. Matt just gave him a hard look before sighing.

“I thought you’d gotten into the habit of working alone, Champion.”

“Things change.” Shiro said, but Matt shook his head in flat refusal.

“Pidge, I’m putting an end to this. I’m not going to have you endangering yourself anymore. You’re going home and that’s the end of it.”

“What home?!” She exploded in fury. “Mom and Dad are gone, and you’ve been here for years. Even Rover’s gone now, the Galra got him. I don’t have anybody to go back to, and I’m not leaving. I’ve spent too much time working on Mom and Dad’s virus, I just need your help getting data on Galra Elite systems, and I think I might actually get it to work.”

“You ever wonder why they gave up on that virus stuff? Because it doesn’t work! It’s a dead end, Pidge, and it got them killed. I’m not letting it kill my sister too. You’re going to stay here until I can arrange transport for you and you-” He pointed his finger at Hunk who jumped. “We’re going to bring the fleet to Melemauna.” Matt’s eyes lit with a zealot’s conviction. “When it’s crushed, we’ll drop you off at home. Another piece to convince the Balmerans to join us.”

“ _ Crushed _ ? Matt-”

“What about Project Zero?” Keith asked uneasily, earning himself the full attention of the Resistance leader as Pidge sputtered her indignation, and Hunk quietly started whispering to Lance.

“What about it?”

“That’s the data we brought. People died so we could get it to you. It’s some kind of weapon, we think, something that the Galra were working on that could mean the end of everything. It went missing. If we could have some resources to track it, get into your intel networks, I think the Resistance could find it first. It’s more important than trying to wipe out an entire world. No offense, but that’s  _ crazy! _ ”

Matt sighed and rubbed his hand across his face. “Whatever Project Zero is, it’s going to have to wait. We don’t have enough people to go chasing after some mythic superweapon, we have a chance to shake the foundations of power in the galaxy and we’re not wasting this chance. Looks like Shiro didn’t teach you about discipline.”

“That’s stupid and you know it!” Pidge threw her arms in the air, as Keith bristled with restrained rage. “You’re going to get people killed for nothing and you’re missing the real threat. You’re so wrapped up in your own hunt for glory that you can’t ever see what’s in front of your face.” Matt ignored the tantrum and pressed a button, calling for an assistant.

“My lieutenant will show you to your rooms. The least I can do is make sure you have a place to stay while we figure out what to do with you.”

“And what about me?” Shiro spoke up. It was clear what he meant. There was no hiding his infection now, it was written too deeply across his body and he’d never be able to slip away undercover. Keith resisted the urge to reach out for his hand, letting Shiro stand there and face his commanding officer with a calm acceptance that Keith never understood. Especially when he thought Matt deserved none of that respect.

Matt smiled and clasped Shiro on the shoulder. “I think it’s time we reward you for all the hard work you’ve done. You’ve fought all these years, it’s time you had a chance to rest.”

Shiro’s ears twisted, his stance shifting just a fraction, tiny dents in his professional facade that Keith wouldn’t have noticed if he wasn’t looking. He didn’t know how he managed, when Keith was biting back the wave of frustration that tore through him, as abrupt as a fall and almost as abrupt as Matt’s dismissal. But Shiro smiled, soft and almost kind.  

“Thank you,” he said, ignoring the indignation of his makeshift crew and the open curiosity of their guests.

Pidge snarled. It cut through the lull like a chainsaw.

“Matt, you can’t. Project Zero-”

“Is mythic bullshit!” He snapped, and something stung, either his pride or his concern, but it burned through his words. “Some conspiracy pipe dream that let’s the Galra infect without contact? It’s their one weakness. Their system is flawed,” He sent Shiro a flat once over, as if to prove a point. “But, if that ever existed, we’d already be dead. Enough.”

Something in Matt’s tone softened, his features shifting with remorse, but not the sort that would make him apologize. “You are dismissed, thank you. Have someone show Lord Hunk to his room.”

It only served to incite Pidge further. The silence stretched between them, a minefield of things unsaid. Matt simply looked passed her, typing on a data pad to open the door behind them. Keith didn’t give two shits about him, and the rejection still stung.

“Go without me.” Pidge muttered under her breath. Shiro paused, worry clear in his stance even if his expression never shifted. It was only after she nodded, one last time, that he put a hand on Keith’s shoulder and started to leave.

The Quvari started arguing before the doors could properly close.

 

* * *

 

Keith hesitated outside Shiro’s door, unsure if he should knock or if he should give the Captain some space. They’d been moved to the guest quarters on the Resistance flagship, but it was a military vessel not meant for comfort. Even if the rooms were slightly bigger, Keith missed his own bunk on the Freedom. He’d gotten used to feeling like it was home. He raised his hand to knock and dropped it, taking a shuffling step backwards.

The door slid open with a whoosh and Shiro grinned. “I can still hear you.”

“Stupid big ears.” Keith muttered darkly. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” Shiro stood to let him in and closed the door behind them before throwing himself down on the bed. “It’s not much, but I was thinking I could spruce it up a little bit. Maybe I could take some of the plants from the Freedom’s engines and put them in here, it might make this place a bit more livable.”

“You’re going to just stay here?” Keith asked awkwardly as Shiro stretched out, looking completely relaxed.

“Maybe. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll talk to Matt about finding some tiny colony world somewhere. See if my plants can grow in alien soil. It might be an interesting challenge. Definitely catch up on some sleep.”

That was not what Keith had expected, to put it mildly. He wasn’t sure what he thought would happen next. Everything was a blur, and his own concerns about the Resistance seemed to tangle in knots whenever he thought to closely about it.

“I just didn’t think you would stop.”

It felt silly to admit out loud, but honesty had always been easier for him when Shiro was involved. When they both cared too much.

“This… The infection doesn’t change anything for you.” Shiro said. It didn’t sound like an accusation, but Keith flinched like he’d been stung. Shiro watched him with sharp eyes, all the while wearing that same small smile he gave Matt. Even with half of his face lost to Galra tech, he was still his Shiro.

“I never really thanked you.” Shiro said. 

Another surprise. Keith was getting tired of being caught of guard. “For what?”

Those too sharp eyes looked away, and Shiro fiddled with the end of his comforter. Resistance regulation grade. It made Keith want to sneak over the ones they had on the ship. “For staying. Every time something went bad, you still stayed. I don’t think I’ve thanked you enough. I wouldn’t be here if you’d left.”

“Anyone would’ve done the same.”

“That’s not true.” Shiro disagreed, but gently. “I owe you, more than I can say. You don’t know how happy it made me, every time you did. So if, if you’re looking to get back on the front lines, I’ll help you in any way I can. I’ve still got a few favors to call in.” He chuckled under his breath, scratching the back of his ears before forcibly dropping his hands in his lap, like he’d been chastised. “I just want to make you happy.”

All Keith could do was stare, pointedly aware that Shiro was waiting for a response, but his mouth had gone dry and he hated that this already sounded like goodbye. “You kissed me.”

“I…what?”

“You kissed me.” Keith said with a little more strength, unsure if this was going to be another argument or if Shiro was going to retreat. “On Melemauna when we were trying to drive everyone out of Shay’s pavilion. You kissed me and it wasn’t just part of the mission.”

Shiro looked uncomfortable, sitting up. “Keith-”

“You said no, so I backed off. But then you kissed me and it felt real and now I, I don’t know what you want.” He moved closer, carefully reaching out to stroke his hands through Shiro’s hair like he did before in those stolen intimate moments when there hadn’t been a war or a disease, just two people holding on to each other. Shiro settled his hands around Keith’s waist and gently pulled him closer, his fingers curling into Keith’s shirt. It was still the best sort of thrill.

“It felt real to me.”

“I don’t have much time left.” Shiro’s heartbeat filled the space between them, the glow from his skin spilling over Keith’s with a wash of violet.  When Keith put a hand to the side of his face, ruined with poisoned quintessence, he flinched. “I never wanted you to watch me die.”

“I’m not asking for a future with you. I’ve been on enough missions with you to know that we both might not walk away tomorrow. You don’t have to remind me, I know what’s at stake.” Shiro opened his mouth to speak, but Keith held his fingers against Shiro’s lips. He moved closer, slotting his body between Shiro’s thighs. “But we have right now. Right this moment and maybe the next one and the next. As many as we can have before the end.”

“I made peace with dying.” Shiro whispered, his voice catching. “I thought I was ready, most of the time it hurts so much that I just want it to end. But I’m still afraid. How stupid is that?”

“You don’t have to do it alone.”

Shiro pulled him down into a kiss.

“Keith I wanted that future. I wanted you to see… all the places the galaxy is still good. I still do.” He closed his eyes, blindly turning into Keith’s touch, and when Keith followed the careful lines across Shiro’s shattered cheek, he shuddered. He started like he meant to continue, stopped, and started again. Keith waited, he always waited. He felt like a man bewitched to watch a swinging pendulum, hanging from a lifeline. 

“I’m not supposed to be like this. I’m so close I don’t…” He trailed off, and when he looked up his eyes were wild and trapped. He breathed out noisily, but when he turned back to Keith, he moved into him in a way that could only be seen as nuzzling. “I’ve run out of chances, but when I’m with you I want to keep trying. Because you’re amazing. You’re brave and determined and incredibly stubborn.” 

His voice hitched, softened, words coming in a marveled whisper. “You’re the best pilot I’ve ever met… you’re my closest friend. I didn’t think I would have any left. And I know it makes it worse. I’m sorry that I pulled you in only to push you away, it was selfish and I hurt you. I was too afraid to admit that there was something I still wanted when I should have been ready to let go. I should have been a better friend and a better partner, I should have been happy to see  _ you _ happy with someone else, and I couldn’t. I’m sorry I made the whole thing weird.” 

Shiro laughed but it was strained. It took Keith a second longer to realize it was fear that held him back. And Keith never felt more brave. “You were pretty weird to begin with, Shiro. But if you’re ready to try, then I am too.” 

“I’m not that weird.” Shiro whispered, and he almost sounded surprised. A laugh bubbled in his chest, spilling free. “I wish I could give you more, you deserve so much more. But I want to try. If you’ll have me?” In another life, maybe he could have given Keith everything. He could have been the partner that Keith needed. He could have spent every day trying to win one of Keith’s sharp grins, every night sleeping in Keith’s arms. 

Keith laughed as Shiro pulled him down into the sheets, tangling their limbs together and letting his body relax. He let Shiro brushed the dark bangs from his face, feeling him trace his finger down his jaw and across his lips. He stole another kiss, Keith surrendering willingly.

_ Stay with me.  _ The words were on the very tip of Shiro’s tongue, a plea he knew he couldn’t make. Keith had a bigger destiny than this. He was just starting his journey, he was going to be a legend one day. A hero that was known throughout the galaxy. Keith had once wanted to live up to the man who saved him all those years ago, rescuing him from the Galra, he had no idea how far he’d come. Shiro felt lucky that he’d been a part of Keith’s story at all.

“You definitely are, Shiro. You’ve got the worse sense of humor out of anyone I’ve ever met.”

“Hey!” Shiro did his best to look offended, but couldn’t keep the smile from his face.

“When you leave, can I go with you?” Keith asked, still wrapped tightly around Shiro. 

“I don’t know where I’m going.”

Keith shrugged, because  _ yeah _ . Yeah, he knew, but that wasn’t the point. When Shiro realized that, he grinned, ducking his head in a way that was almost shy, but brought him close enough for Keith to claim another kiss. “I’m your co-pilot right?”

“You’re the only one I want.” This was a terrible idea. It had to be. The war was far from over. The idea of Keith sitting on the sidelines just seemed impossible, and Shiro had worked long and hard for the chance to finally rest. But they would work it out. They’d find a way, and Shiro couldn’t stop smiling.

It left Keith’s heart skittering, like he was trying to catch his balance on ice, but Shiro was warm and steady in his hands, and that was simple in a way nothing else seemed to be. He traced down Shiro’s side, moving down to the curve of his hip, twisting the hem of his shirt between his fingers. Keith wanted to be careful, still unsure what he was allowed, but at the same time, he wanted to tear his gift apart before he lost his chance.

Shiro helped him, stripping off slowly, until he was completely bare as Keith ran his hands down his chest. The lines of purple followed the planes of his muscles, metal warmed by Shiro’s skin. They laced down his ribs to his abdomen, flexible and smooth, almost like real flesh. Wherever they’d spread, they’d swallowed the intricate tattoos that Shiro had used to mark himself with all of the most important memories of his life, erasing them like they’d never existed.

But they weren’t all gone.

A new shape was delicately etched into Shiro’s inner thigh, a golden disk and its black twin circling each other in dizzying spirals that Keith had never seen before. When Keith’s finger’s found it, Shiro inhaled sharply, reliving the memory in detail so perfect that his body arched slightly.

“You gave yourself a new one?”

Shiro caught his hand and squeezed it tight, looking up at Keith with unfocused eyes.  “I wanted to remember you.” He said hoarsely. “I thought you were leaving, you had every reason to go. I just wanted to hold on to how it felt with you in my arms.”

Keith laughed and dug his fingers into the mark, enjoying how Shiro shuddered beneath him. “I was good enough to be immortalized?”

“You are incredible. I want to remember you for as long as I can.”

Shiro’s eyes had fallen shut, his mouth parted around a breathy moan and a dark flush stained across his cheeks. It was fascinating. Keith flattened his hand across Shiro’s skin, stroking along the long lines of his leg and back up again to watch his lover’s breath caught, a choked, honest little noise spilling past his lips. Shiro couldn’t even move, his hands twitching involuntarily at Keith’s side, and Keith could feel him pressing against his thigh, already thick and long. Keith had barely touched him.

“Shit.” Shiro whispered, all exhale. “Keith, wait it’s…”

But Keith pressed closer, hooking his leg over Shiro’s knee and dragging him in with intent that couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. “Can I touch you?”

“You’re already touching me.” Shiro grinned, just to be smart. Keith ran his thumb along the cut of his hip, and had the honor of wiping that expression clear off his face.

“Smartass.” He teased, putting his mouth to the mark as Shiro writhed, caught between the feeling of Keith’s mouth and the memories of him. “Hmm.” He mused, giving Shiro’s thigh a quick lick. “The other ones aren’t as sensitive as this one.”

“It’s newer.” Shiro gasped. “The memories are stronger. I wish I could share them-”

“You don’t have to. I remember exactly how it was like that night, you so desperate for me. So vulnerable.” A soft sort of fondness flickered over Keith’s face.

“So completely embarrassed that I’d been so attracted to you, I let myself slip into a heat cycle without even realizing it?” Shiro said grumpily, but was immediately distracted by the sharp bite of Keith’s teeth against the sensitive flesh of his thigh. His legs trembled, knees spreading to give Keith all the access he could want.

“That too. You’re cute when you blush like that.”

Keith rolled on top of him, and Shiro’s eyes widened, the ring of gold across his right flaring with new light. Keith glanced at it, almost an acknowledgement, then he kissed him, kissed him long and low like he needed to map out every inch of his soft mouth. Like they had all the time in the world, and Keith wanted to spend the rest of his life doing just this. Shiro melted, arms wrapped around Keith, his body pliant and all too eager, he gave up everything he could. Then he demanded more.

His hands settled around Keith’s hips, hesitating long enough that the human pulled away, but Shiro moved with him, craning his neck up to chase the taste of him.

“You can take it off.” Keith said, licking his lips. Then he tried that again. “I want you to take it off me.”

“You sure?” Shiro said. He smiled, but it was strained, deep lines of quintessence pulling across his cheek. Keith followed them with his finger tips, moving down the tip of Shiro’s jaw to the deep hollows of his clavicle. Then lower, across his chest and down his ribs. Keith settled into Shiro’s lap, shifting just enough that he could feel his cock pressing against the curve of his ass, his own pants painfully tight. He stroked down to Shiro’s belly, scratching his nails across the lines of his abs, and Shiro let out a soft noise, like he’d been hurt, but his eyes were blown black with want. He couldn’t look away from Keith’s hands.

Keith touched everywhere he’d been hurt, every unfair and painful memory. The infection had claimed even the scars of battles past. But Shiro was more than his past, and more than his hurts. Sometimes it felt like he needed a reminder of that.

“I’m really fucking sure.”

Shiro slowly worked Keith’s shirt up over his head, drawing out the reveal of smooth skin and tight muscle. He was deliberate, finally able to take his time without feeling like the clock was always ticking in his ear. They had time tonight, as much as they wanted, and Shiro wasn’t going to waste a single second of it.

Keith’s body was warm beneath his hands, his skin reddening just slightly where he gripped. He drew his thumbs across Keith’s nipples, playing with each sensitive nub until they were hard and Keith growled low in his throat. He slid slower as Keith stretched, watching him hungrily, and tugged at the waistband of Keith’s pants.

“You need help or do you think you can manage?” There was the spark of challenge in Keith’s eyes that always lit Shiro on fire, consuming him from the inside. He was helpless, chasing after it and ready to burn. He yanked Keith down into a kiss, chuckling into his mouth as he deftly unfastened Keith’s pants.

“I’d say I’ve still got a few skills.”

Keith’s smile was private and wicked as he pulled back, lips bruised pink. He leaned back to slide his pants off with more grace than Shiro thought was possible, earning a heavy breath from the man beneath him. Shiro swallowed as he reached out for Keith’s cock, but his hand was knocked away.

“Not yet.” He said, fitting his body between Shiro’s knees and pulling his legs apart to put him on full display. Keith traced his fingers around the new tattoo, testing just how sensitive it was. “What if you held your legs together and I fucked you here? Maybe we could add a few memories?”

“What?”

Keith ran his hands up the length of Shiro’s thighs, then back down. “I want to press these together, and fuck into you when you’re holding them tight for me. Tight and hot until I can come all over you.”

But Keith hadn’t moved yet, just brushing along the edges of Shiro’s mark.

Shiro’s eyes went wide, and Keith could see the ring of white around each. All the air left him in a rush, his ears flattening against his hairs, and for a moment, Keith worried that he’d gone too far. Then Shiro nodded, barely moving his head. It took him a moment to find his voice, and when Keith pressed his fingers into his inked skin, it broke. “Yesss can you- Keith please?”

When Shiro begged like that, Keith could barely keep himself together. He melted in Keith’s hands, leaving him with a rush of power. “Can you hold yourself for me?” Keith whispered and Shiro nodded, the ability to speak forgotten. He moved back and pressed Shiro’s legs together, holding them tight. The skin between them was already slick with sweat, Shiro’s whole body held tight with anticipation.

He started easy, stroking behind his thighs before pushing between them in one slow slide. Keith stifled a groan, lost in the slow drag against Shiro’s skin. Each thrust made Shiro’s breath catch, Keith’s cock hard against his tattoos and sending him spiraling with the ghost of remembered pleasure.

Shiro twisted his hands in the sheets, pulling hard as he canted his hips to try and match Keith’s rhythm. Keith tugged on them free, urging Shiro to let go. He didn’t move immediately, but when he did, he latched onto Keith, one arm tight around his waist, the other tangling in his hair and pulling like he couldn’t help it. His eyes were glassy, every breath a jagged little thing like he couldn’t quite remember how to breathe. He was shaking, writhing beneath him, so closed to wrecked and they’d barely even started.

Keith had lied. He wanted to see what Shiro did, wanting to remember the first time he sank into him, the sharp of exhaustion and overwhelmed want when Shiro returned the favor.

“Keith, Keith!” Shiro groaned, dragging his hands across his skin, nails just sharp enough to nick, a reminder of how careful Shiro always was. And how Keith had taken it all away. His partner arched into him, spine curving off the bed in a graceful bow, moving into him with each thrust, and Keith pushing him back down, silencing him with a filthy kiss.

Shiro could feel him between his thighs, deep inside of him, fucking down into Keith’s tight heat. Past and present merged and he reached out with his mind, grasping in vain for a connection. He screamed for the silence to end, the language of emotion spilling from him unanswered, trapped behind the walls of his own skull. Keith panted against his mouth, bringing him back to himself. He was thick and heavy between Shiro’s legs, each thrust offering just a tease of friction.

He wrapped his hand around himself, stroking himself in time with Keith.  _ Slow down! _ He had to slow down. Make every second last. Keith shifted on the narrow bed, fitting his body behind Shiro’s with his hand steadying his partner’s hip. Each tight drag sent sparks of electricity running through him, slick and warm as Shiro squeezed down around him. He peppered kisses down Shiro’s back, earning a soft moan and trying to see just how much noise he could coax from Shiro’s lips.

Shiro could feel Keith, just kissing up against his balls, and it felt like their bed was tilting dangerously beneath him, sending Shiro spiraling.

Keith fucked him into the mattress, his thighs covered in his slick, dragging out every broken mewl, every aching plea. His hands moved around Shiro’s middle, stroking across his belly, just skimming the head of his cock, and Shiro gasped. The curve of his ass pressed against Keith’s crotch, pushed as far as Keith could go, and he thought about fucking Shiro just like this, taking him to the hilt, making him hold it all in. Shiro was already shaking, his voice fading at the fringes, like he had to fight back tears.

Keith couldn’t get enough. When he bit down on Shiro’s shoulder, in the sensitive place that met his neck, Shiro screamed.

He came like that, grinding against the sheets, bucking and trembling in Keith’s arms. Keith held him through it, palming his cock in slow, even strokes, even as he bucked into him as hard and as fast as he could, driving himself to the edge.

He pushed Shiro down, crawling on top of him so his lover had to watch, had to see what he’d made of him. Shiro looked up with tired eyes, cheeks flushed with color and damp with sweat. He made such a pretty picture. Prettier even when Keith came on top of him, streaking his thighs with cum.

They tangled together, fighting for space on the small bed wrapped in sweaty sheets and each other. They laughed as they found a way to fit together. Shiro traced lazy circles against Keith’s skin, warm and tired, too comfortable to even think about moving. Keith deserved so much more than this, but by the Light, Shiro was grateful.

“You think that’ll earn me another tattoo?” Keith murmured sleepily.

“By the time you’re done with me, I might not have any space left. I could fill my whole body with memories of you.”

Keith smiled. “Maybe I’ll get one too? To remember.”

Shiro lapsed into silence and Keith looked up, wondering if he’d said something wrong. The tired smile had slipped and Shiro’s eyes were wide, shining with tears he tried to hide.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“No, it’s-” Shiro pulled him up, tightening his arms around Keith. An offer to remember, it meant more than Keith could ever understand. It was ingrained deeply in his culture, a cornerstone of their relationships. Someday, when the last Koryu disappeared, there would be someone to carry his memory on. A piece of him would exist with Keith and they wouldn’t truly be gone. He pressed his forehead against Keith’s, closing his eyes.

Emotion burst through Keith’s mind, loud and overlapping in an overwhelming frenzy. Grief, fear, pride, tenderness, love, want. More he didn’t understand or have words to describe. He pulled back with a gasp, drowning.

“I didn’t think…” The Koryu started, but silenced himself. He kept looking at Keith like he thought Keith would have an explanation. Shiro’s eyes had gone wide, honest shock written in bold lines across his face. His ears tilted backwards, curving down. “Can I?”

Keith didn’t have an answer for him, the last of the sensation already fading away, like waking up from a falling dream. He hadn’t been hurt, by any stretch, but Shiro looked so concerned. Keith let Shiro comb his fingers through his hair, and when he pulled him closer, Keith went willingly. “Shiro’s what’s going on?”

The question was whispered against his lips, but at the first touch of contact, it didn’t seem to matter. It was softer this time, more restrained, like Keith was listening to music from underwater. Hope and disbelief, fear? Acceptance. And love. So much love, it hurt his chest, left his ribs constricting against his lungs, and Keith knew, without any explanation but without any doubt, that Shiro was still holding back. Because it felt like coming home.

“Shiro-” He started, but his voice caught in his throat, an uneven warble Keith couldn’t bring himself to feel embarrassment over. There were tears in his eyes, but Shiro gently wiped them away, as Keith struggled for breath.

“Our language.” Shiro spoke, and a whisper of sensation spun between them, in all the places they touched and in the space they shared. It was a shadow in Keith’s periphery, intangible, but all too real. 

“How is this possible?”

The emotions flared again before Shiro could reign them in, tamping them down to muffle their intensity. “I heard that when people bonded-, when they found a partner, that their connection got stronger. I didn’t know it could happen with your species.” Shiro laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind Keith’s ear. “Your hearing isn’t very good.”

“Hey!” Keith tweaked Shiro’s furry ear and felt a ripple of fond humor. He closed his eyes and lay in Shiro’s arms, swimming in the whispers of words and feelings he didn’t understand but welcomed. They were all so light, dancing in complicated patterns that left him feeling like he was part of something greater than himself.

They drowsed in the haze of their connection until it started to fade and Keith could only feel the warmth of Shiro’s skin instead of the thoughts inside of him. “We should do this again.”

“As many times as you want.” Shiro said. Keith would make sure he made good on that promise.

That night, Keith dreamed about a tree with trailing branches, dipping pink leaves into a clear pond. He smiled as he reached out his hand to touch one before looking up at the shimmering domed sky. It was so real, he really thought he could feel feel the afternoon breeze.

 

* * *

 

_ –Recovery Complete: Play Transmission— _

_ [Begin Playback] _

Dr. Shirogane Ryou sat in front of the camera, his gaze distant and unfocused. The infection had taken both of his eyes. They glowed an unnatural gold in the dim light. His hair was completely white, and his face was cut apart by fine veins of tainted quintessence. He no longer looked like his brother.

“Three should be enough,” He said, finally turning to the camera with a frown. “I think I recorded three. I’m losing time again. It’s getting worse. That’s okay. All that’s left…”

He quieted and turned away, his shoulders hunched. He scrubbed a hand across his face, only to flinch away from it as if he’d been stung. It was just another reminder of how far he’d fallen.

“I’m tired of saying goodbye, but this is the last one, so I gotta make it good, right Shi?” He forced a smile. It was practiced and mechanical, the same one he’d used during all his interviews before the Freedom’s first flight. On his once handsome face, it was menacing. The camera caught every uncomfortable moment as his expression crumbled, tears prickling in the corner of his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this. None of us did. I did everything I could. It gets worse every time I…”

Ryou cleared his throat and sat straighter in his seat, swiping at his eyes with an impatient hand. His voice warbled, but he refused to let that stop him.

“I left detailed instructions in the med bay, in my personal recordings, and here. It isn’t a cure, but it looks like it’ll slow the virus. The batch I left is good for two weeks, then you’ll need to make more. I know biomechanics was never your strong suit, but I can’t do everything for you, you brat.” He cracked another smile, this one smaller and uncertain, but it grew more and more strained by the moment.

“You’re a good man, Takashi. I’m sorry about the mess. But it’s- they’re getting louder… I just didn’t want you to have to do this.”

He shifted to turn off the camera. For the first time, it caught a sliver of something in his lap. Then the door to the Captain’s quarters opened, and Takashi stopped him in his tracks.

“Ryou what’re you doing?”

Ryou backed away, off-screen, his face a mask of horror.

“Ryou!”

They collided with each other in a scuffle that knocked over a camera. From somewhere in the distance, there was a bang, followed by a painful, gut-wrenching scream. Then all that was left were the stilted sounds of heartbroken sobs.

_ [End Playback] _


	12. Chapter 12

“Hold still, will you? You’re insufferable.”

“I don’t know, maybe you’d like to hold still while I crack open _your_ frontal processor.”

Lance scowled up at Pidge. He’d spent years trying to mimic Hunk, cataloging every way the human expressed himself even though there was no shortage of other sources. It was still a wasted effort. Service bots just weren’t made for that sort of emotion, but Pidge sighed like it had worked anyway.

That was why they were here.

“Look, do you want this on right or not?” This was not what she’d expected when Lance asked if she wanted a chance to take him apart. Her laser drill remained steady in her hand, the faintest scent of ozone the only sign it was still active as she fastened a bit of metal a top his eye. This would be the first time any service bot had eyebrows, as far as she knew. Real eyebrows. The sort that moved when he wanted them to. “Your chassis is really tough, okay?”

“Hunk modified it.” Lance’s voice brightened, as much as his modulator would allow, but it was all he could do to show his pride in his best friend. Hunk had given him everything.

“So why didn’t you go to Hunk for this? Not that I mind, but…”

“Yeah, I know. I just… I wanted this to be a surprise.” And maybe, when Hunk saw that, he would think…

The door whooshed, cutting through their focus like a knife.

They both looked up, wearing looks of absolute guilt (Pidge because she was trying too hard to look casual, Lance because he still only had one eyebrow properly secured), but it was only Keith. Keith, who was more rumpled and relaxed than they’d ever seen him, his hair still damp, and his shirt a size too big to be his.

He took one look at the two of them and dismissed whatever high tech shenanigans they were getting into, focusing instead on grabbing a bottle of something cold to drink. The water recycler on this ship had a metallic taste, there had to be a better option. He found a protein drink and popped it open, swinging himself into one of the workbenches with a relaxed ease.

Finally to stop the tense atmosphere from smothering him, he said, “Whatever it is you’re doing, I don’t want to know and I don’t care.”

Pidge let out the breath she’d been holding, but Lance pouted, which was less effective with a single eyebrow fastened to his face. “Don’t tell anyone about this, it’s a surprise.”

“I told you, I don’t care.” Keith said, taking a sip from the bottle. “It’s not my business if you want to bolt random things to your face.”

“They’re  _eyebrows_.” Lance huffed indignantly, wiggling his one eyebrow for emphasis. “They’re an important part of human non-verbal communication, and they go great with my facial features. They really enhance the look.”

Keith looked at Pidge who just shrugged and started working on the other one. “He wanted eyebrows, so I offered to help.”

“It’s more than the eyebrows, it’s…” Lance shot a suspicious look at Keith who didn’t seem to notice. “Sorry. I’m not used to talking to anybody else but Hunk.” He apologized to Pidge and offered her his version of a smile. “If we’re gonna go home, my only chance is to be able to pass for human.”

“I’m not sure how much I can help, there’s only so much you can do with upgrading. It’s never going to look organic.” Pidge said thoughtfully, like she’d been given a new puzzle to solve. 

“But what if I find a way to upgrade into an organic body? Then I could pass and no one would ever know.”

A crackle of tension cut through the room, so highly charged that Lance looked around.

“How about we deal with one sentient robot invasion at a time before we worry about the toasters attacking?” Pidge said, voice sharpened at the edges, and Lance back-peddled.

“I didn’t mean that,” Lance hurried to defend himself, but he shot a glance at Keith, half-worried the human was going to do something rash. Except Keith had withdrawn into himself, the implications hitting too close to home, and somehow his silence only made Lance feel worse.

Pidge relented. The bitterness in her smile hadn’t faded, but when she went back to his eyebrow, it was with the same professionalism she’d always had. “It’s fine. It’s just frustrating.” She made a face and corrected herself. “My brother is very frustrating. Whatever help you’re looking to get from him into organic-synthetic tech, you’ll be out of luck.”

Keith paused, glancing at the door, but he decided that the first thing Pidge had done when they’d been assigned this cabin was to make sure it was clean. “What happened back there, with him? The Project.”

“He doesn’t care about it at all. He’s got other things to worry about.” She lowered her gaze, mouth twisting unhappily. “ He thinks he’s doing the right thing. I think he’s an idiot… They’re going to destroy Melemauna.”

“They’re  _what_?” Now Pidge really did have Keith’s full attention and he set his drink aside. “That’s impossible. How, why would they ever target Melemauna, the Antalians are already gone!”

“That’s the point.” Pidge said sourly. “The Antalians fell without a fight, so their planetary defense system should still be operational. With their fleet away from the planet chasing down innocent people, it wouldn’t be that hard to turn it against the planet itself. Wipe out a whole world full of Galra, and a Core World too. They’ve been preparing since Shiro’s signal went out.”

“But that’s…” Keith face must have showed the horror at such an unthinkable plan and Lance glanced from the human back to the Quvari.

“What’s the big deal? Aren’t you people supposed to kill the Galra?” The robot asked.

“We’re supposed to save people.” Keith snapped. “Not just destroy a whole world.”

“But they’re Galra. What’s the big deal?” Lance repeated, not really seeing the point. His programming didn’t allow for shades of grey and he’d never cared about Core Worlds or galactic politics. For him, the Galra were a means to an end for himself and for Hunk, nothing more. Melemauna was a distant world he knew nothing about and war was just a definition stored in his memory banks.

Keith snarled, frustrated rather than angry, at the Resistance for their callousness and at himself for not being able to denounce them with the same eloquence he thought other people would have. “What about their culture or their- their memories?”

He looked to Pidge, unsure if he should be preparing to argue or seeking validation. He didn’t expect to see his struggle reflected in her eyes. 

“Our culture’s who we are, and what we make of ourselves.” Pidge said, finally putting away her laser. She smiled at her handiwork, but there was a wistfulness to it that was darkened with melancholy. “If you want to be human, that’s something you’ll have to figure out yourself.”

She lifted the mirror off the wall, and handed it to Lance so he could see himself.

“Wow.” Lance let out a smile, carefully testing his range. He had a full collection of expressions he needed to reconfirm, but this was a step closer.

The door slid open and everyone froze, but Hunk barely noticed as he flourished a tray. “Hey! I went looking for something to eat and found the mess hall. I figured if we’re going to be here for a while, we might as well get some snacks and…hi?” He blinked at Keith in surprise like he hadn’t expected the other human to join them, but when Lance cleared his throat, Hunk almost dropped his tray.

“What’s on your face?!”

“Eyebrows.” Lance waggled them as suggestively as he could. “Do you like them? I thought if we’re going to be around more humans now, I should be better able to communicate with them.” He searched Hunk’s face nervously, looking for approval and afraid he might not find it. Hunk set down the tray of liberated snacks next to Pidge and hugged Lance tight.

“You look awesome! This was all your idea?”

“And Pidge, she helped.” Lance gave his co-conspirator an extra waggle.

“I don’t understand, it’s not like eyebrows are going to make him look any more human.” Keith said calmly as he helped himself to Hunk’s food and settled back to watch. “You can’t just build a person.”

“Maybe  _you_ can’t.” Lance geared up for a fight but Hunk pulled Lance down before things could spiral out of control.

“It was actually an accident. I was the only human on Balmera Prime, so I started making things. I guess I just wanted to make myself a friend.” He stopped, giving Lance a small smile. “I’m not sure what made Lance like he was, but it was nice to have somebody there.”

“You’re just lucky nobody found out.” Pidge said around a mouthful of rations. “People get really touchy about this kind of technology, trust me.”

“Oh, dude. I know! We had to be really careful all the time, that’s why-” Hunk bit off his words guiltily. Their plan was a secret and dangerous one, but it looked like the others had managed to find out.

“Don’t worry, Lance already told us he wants to be Galra.” Keith said. “Sounds a bit dangerous to me.”

“Not Galra,  _like_  the Galra.” Lance fumed. “I just want to be organic, enough to pass as a human! Are you hard of hearing or just stupid? It’s totally different.”

“Totally different, but based on actual Galra tech, right?” Keith could feel his hackles raising as Lance was determined to get under his skin. “You ever stop to think what would happen if something went wrong? Galra tech isn’t some toy, those things are out there wiping out billions of people and no one has any idea how to stop them. What if messing around like this is what started the Galra to begin with, huh? What if you turn out to be something worse? Someone could get hurt and you don’t even care.”

“We’re not going to hurt anybody! You’ve been ready to hate the both of us since you met us, you don’t want to listen to anything we say.” Lance snarled.

“The first time I met you, we were trying to rescue our friend that your people had locked up!” Keith couldn’t believe he was having this argument. “I don’t have anything against you and I am listening, I just think it’s a bad idea to mess with Galra tech.”

“Or maybe you’re just jealous?” Lance crossed his arms and put his new eyebrows to good use. “That we’re better at this than the actual Resistance is.”

“Better at what?” Keith threw his hands up in annoyance. “What are you even talking about? I don’t care what you do, I just don’t want people getting hurt if you make a mistake.”

“We know.” Hunk cut in, and he put a hand on Lance to calm him down. “We’re going to take this slow and be careful. We don’t want to hurt anyone either. I know what the Galra can do. I lost my parents to them when I was little.”

Keith ignored the robot’s glare and focused on Hunk, handing him a compressed meal bar. “Is that why you were on Balmera Prime? I wondered why you seemed to be the only human there.”

“They took me in after the attack. I might be a human, but I’m a Balmeran where it counts. The rest I’m still trying to figure out.” Hunk looked at his hands. They’d always seemed so small compared to the rest of his family. Shay always used to tease him for being so delicate, and Rax had never really stopped. They were bigger now, everything felt bigger and he was still trying to figure out how to fit into his own skin. “We’re not going to do anything dangerous, I just want to get a closer look at their tech and see if there’s anything I can learn. It’s why we wanted to see your tech. Maybe we could find another way that’s not Galra based?”

“If it has to be Galra, then that’s what we’ll use, I’m not afraid of the risks. It’s the only way I can be human.” Lance was stubbornly defensive, finding it easier to be angry than to admit he was afraid it wouldn’t work and he’d be stuck like this forever. “You know what it’s like to have everyone look at you like you’re nothing? To pretend to be something you’re not just so they won’t come after you and take you apart? I mess up and Hunk pays the price, I can’t…I can’t live like this. I deserve to have my own life, right?”

Awkward silence settled over the four crew members, the confessions raw and personal. Keith understood the boiling frustrations. How many times had he felt trapped in his old life with no way out, dreaming of something more? A chance to life? How many times did Shiro have to hide what he was because people wouldn’t understand? What would they be willing to risk for each other?

Finally he spoke, trying to cut the tension. “Shiro’s ship combines organic and synthetic tech, and it’s not Galra. Maybe we could start there?”

Hunk didn’t miss the  _we_  and gave Keith a grateful, hopeful nod. Pidge chimed in a second later.

“You can count on me too. We’re all part of the same crew, right? That means we’re a team and a team works together. Maybe this time I’ll even show you my lab on board.” She was determined to make this work. They’d all been outcasts one way or the other, each looking for something more. Even Shiro who’d been trying to isolate himself away from everyone had somehow managed to gather together a group of misfits instead. Rover had been her only friend for so long that she’d never considered making any others. But he was gone and she wasn’t alone. “A runaway Human-Balmeran, a rogue toaster ‘bot, a tech heretic, a hotshot pilot, and a half-Galra Captain. Sounds like we’ve got everything we need.”

“We’re in.” Lance said without hesitation, grabbing Pidge’s hand and moving it to the center of their little circle. “Heck yeah!”

Hunk felt like his heart was beating in his throat and wondered if he was going to be sick again. This was all an accident and home was waiting for them, safe and secure with everyone they loved. They were supposed to go right back, he wasn’t ready for an adventure! He wasn’t really adventure material, more like sit at a work bench and build things material. Or make funny jokes so Shay laughed material. Oh, or even teach his younger cousins how to make grub-burgers material, that was a good one; he was always very popular with that. But he looked at the others and put on his bravest face.

He put his hand over Lance and Pidge’s.  _For Lance_. “Oh Light, please don’t let us get blown up or something.”

The corner of Keith’s mouth twitched in what could have almost been a smile, but he put his hand over the others’. “Friends sound good.”

It was like the ice in the room had broken, each one of them starting to relax. It wasn’t like anything Keith had ever seen before. They chatted and laughed, Pidge and Hunk working together on small test modifications while Lance made jokes and offered advice. Every once in a while, Keith made a suggestion based on something he’d seen on the Freedom, sparking Pidge to launch into an excited lecture on what she’d learned studying their unique ship.

Even back on the WSP, no one had truly been comfortable around him. The kids were different, his scrappy orphans who all seemed too grownup for their own good. These people were a team,  _his team._ They might have been thrown together by circumstance, but they were sticking together by choice. It was an odd feeling that left him feeling disoriented, but happy. And back in his quarters, Shiro was there waiting for him. No more running or pushing each other away, they were going to stick this out together, they all were.

For the very first time in his life, Keith felt like he belonged.

“That’s a good idea, do you think your brother would let us access the Resistance database for more information?” Hunk rubbed his chin thoughtfully as Lance mimicked his movements. “We didn’t have full access to the recent tech upgrades coming into the Balmera. Based on how many different types of ships I saw out in the fleet, they must have some unique designs we could modify.”

“You’re welcome to talk to that prick, but if you end up punching him, I won’t be surprised.” Pidge scoffed. “He’s not a fan of my ‘hobbies.’” She spoke with such acid, it was a wonder her tongue was still in place.

“That’s stupid.” There was a hint of shock in Keith’s tone. It was honestly difficult to believe that they’d come to the Resistance with such fantastic resources, only to be turned away, and Pidge smiled at the anger that came at her behalf.

“You look just like Shiro when you make that face,” she teased.

Keith wasn’t entirely sure how to answer to that. He cleared his throat. “He even turned down that- thing? From Melemauna.”

“What thing?” Lance butt-in, never one to be left in the dark for long.

Pidge ran careful fingers over her wrist device, looking almost sad. “It’s a virus, but it doesn’t work. My parents came up with the idea years ago back when they were both working for the Resistance. They believed that if the Galra could infect people with their synthetic virus, then we might be able to do something similar to them. They’re mostly machines, it should be possible to upload something into them and deactivate them or destroy them. They thought we could win the whole war that way.”

Hunk perked up immediately, interested in what such a virus would look like. “But they didn’t get it to work?”

“No. They were close though, I can feel it. I’ve been working on it since we lost them, I just need some actual working test subjects. I thought I had modified it enough, but when I tried to use it on Melemauna to deactivate the drones, it didn’t work.”

“Test subjects.” Keith made a face. “You want to go messing with Galra tech too? Like Chet?”

“Not like that. There’s a difference between testing on someone, and testing on their liver.” Pidge defended, brow furrowed. “There’s a group who might give me access without it being dangerous, but their location is buried deep in the Resistance classified files and Matt would never let me dig for it.”

“So there’s just someone who like… keeps a bunch of Galra bits on ice? Or something?” Hunk asked, squinting, and Keith had to second the sentiment. There was something bitter about finding out that their allies were bad, but there were still more questionable groups out there. He thought he’d been disillusioned by Serrac Rho, by Chet, but he always seemed to forget there were still worse things in the galaxy.

“I don’t know,” Pidge admitted. “By my parents kept referring to something in their notes, like they were working with other people. You know, send blah blah to so-and-so. Refer to so-and-so’s notes. It sounded that way.”

“Maybe that’s what got them killed.” No sooner had Lance spoken did every eye in the room turn to him to glare. He scrambled. “What! You were there too. You heard it!”

“The point is.” Pidge continued, bowling over anyone else before more comments could be made. “Unless I figure out how to contact the Blade of Marmora, I’ve hit a dead end.”

It was a disquieting thought, heavy with a sort of resignation that Keith wasn’t used to seeing around Pidge. It was like hearing Shiro wanted to garden. If they wanted to stop, out of everyone he knew, everyone he’d met, they certainly had a right to it. Yet it never seemed to really fit.

“So let’s get their info.” Keith said.

Pidge rolled her eyes. “I’m sure if we ask my brother  _really nicely,_  he’ll agree to help.”

When Keith didn’t react, she shrugged, muttering an apology under her breath. But Keith shrugged, “Who said we were going to ask?”

“Are you serious?” 

They all stared at Keith, but he remained untroubled. “If it’s something that could actually destroy the Galra, isn’t it worth going after? We’ve come this far, we can’t just give up now.”

“Plus, we’re a team.” Lance said enthusiastically.

“Do you think they’d help us too?” Hunk had to ask.

“Who knows, but it’s worth asking, right?”

“Right.” There was conviction in Hunk’s voice now, a plan. They could do this together. “What about your Captain Shiro, do you think he’d help us out too? If we don’t have a ship, we’re all kinda stuck.”

Keith looked guilty for a moment. He’d been making promises when Shiro had decided it was time to stop fighting. He couldn’t ask his friend to spend what little time he had left chasing after more danger and plunging right back into the war he’d been so eager to escape. It wouldn’t be fair, even if they were partners. And Keith had promised to stay, that was something he never wanted to break. “Let’s figure out how to do this first, and then I’ll talk to Shiro. Deal?”

They talked for hours in hushed tones, though they were in the security of Hunk’s room. They hatched a plan to steal down to the main data core and hack into the system, taking what they needed before escaping on the Freedom to find these Blades of Marmora and stop the Galra. And maybe, Keith thought to himself privately, save Shiro too.

Pidge and Keith filed out eventually, and Lance flopped back in a cushy chair and gave Hunk his best eyebrow demonstration. “I can’t believe this is really happening! I’m gonna be alive.”

“I’ll make it happen any way I can, buddy.” Hunk said, a promise he held close to home. It had been an insane sort of day. If he counted down the hours since he was in his own bed, he thought it’d give him a headache. Hunk knew that something had to be done against the Galra. There was no doubt about that, and there was no way he could turn his back on that logic, but when everything else threatened to overwhelm him, he thought about his best friend. He thought about his family.

“Thanks, Hunk.” Lance was smiling at him, and something in his chest ached. He’d always thought Lance’s smile was the best sort of charming.

It was… a surprisingly different sort of charm now.

Not that Hunk should’ve cared. The eyebrows were great, and most importantly, Lance’s idea. It was just the first time he hadn’t directly helped him with a modification, and he kind of very much cared. That was dumb. Trying to be as cool as a quagmire crystal, and probably not doing that at all, Hunk dropped, “You know you coulda asked me to help, not like I’m busy here.”

“You do so much, I wanted to surprise you.” Lance fit himself in Hunk’s arms, making room without even asking.

Hunk settled back and hid his frown in the curve of Lance’s shoulder. If he wasn’t the one who made modifications and Lance could do this all on his own, what good was he? Lance was ready to see the galaxy, volunteering them for adventure and danger when all Hunk could do was keep up. “Are you really sure you want to do this? Go looking for those Blade guys, I mean. These people are in a war and there’s real Galra involved. What if something happens?”

“What’s the alternative now, Hunk? If we go home again, I’ll have to spend every day pretending to be a mindless robot again and worrying about what will happen if anyone finds out. I need this. They’re all your family, not mine. They’d never accept me unless I was alive like them.” He twisted in Hunk’s arms to look up at him. “I can’t be with you if I’m not alive.”

“You’re already with me, dude.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Lance?” Hunk said, startled by the force behind the bot’s statement. Lance had always been a little intense when he was allowed to be himself, but this time, it felt like there was something Hunk was missing. Then his friend laughed, and nudged him in the side.

“Yeah, how’m I gonna be your shoulder to cry on if my shoulders get rusty? It’s a mess, I need it.”

“Dude, come on. I made sure every inch of you is rust resistant. And that’s quite a few inches.”

Lance just groaned. “Urgh, why are your jokes terrible? Come on. You think you can do something about my voice box now that I don’t have to sound like one of them. And if you say ‘take it away,’ I swear.”

“I would never.” Hunk promised, all exaggerated affront, and as Lance chattered on about that actor he wanted to sound like, Hunk leaned into him, just a little. He figured now wasn’t a good time to tell Lance that he didn’t care what he sounded like, he just liked to hear him speak.

 

* * *

 

This time, when Keith walked into Shiro’s cabin, he only hesitated a little, but once he’d let himself in, he wished he’d hesitated a little more. Shiro was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets in the center of his bed, his hair still damp from the shower, but his breathing slow and even. It made something in Keith’s chest feel tight and tingly, a mixture of guilt and pride that only made him move closer, to gently comb his fingers through Shiro’s hair.

It was a mistake.

Without even the slightest warning, Shiro reached out and dragged him into bed like he was just another pillow. Keith squawked the whole way down.

“No! No, you’re still wet, no!” He complained loudly as Shiro rumbled with laughter and tucked Keith against his side. With a huff, Keith resigned himself to his damp fate. “Who gets back into bed just out of the shower?”

“What’s wrong with spending all day in bed with nothing to do?” Shiro teased, winning a kiss for his troubles. “Well, almost nothing. I can think of one thing I’d like to do.”

“Is this your attempt at seduction?”

“Depends on if it’s working.”

“I wonder what it says about me if I admit it.” Keith tried his best to scowl, but Shiro was happy and it was impossible not to be swept up in it. He looked younger when he smiled, like a weight had been lifted from him. His smile was hopeful and mischievous, begging to be kissed. How could Keith take him away from this now when he finally had a chance to rest? Something in his face must have given away his worry because Shiro pulled back to look at him, expression serious.

“What is it?”

“Did you know Pidge has been working on a virus to infect the Galra?” Keith chose his words carefully. “Her parents’ work. She thinks with the right data, she could use it like their own virus and shut them all down.”

He held his breath as Shiro sighed. “Yeah, she told me when she first got on the Freedom. She’s not the first one to try. No one’s been able to make it work, it’s just chasing dreams.”

“But she’s smart, you know she is. If anyone could figure out how to make it work, she could be the one. What if she’s right? This could be the answer.” Keith tried to keep the frantic hope from his voice, but Shiro saw through him.

“You think she can save me.”

“I think she can save everyone,” Keith said carefully. Shiro’s brows furrowed in a way that Keith used to think meant he was angry. He knew now that Shiro was just thinking, and the weight of his thoughts was not an easy one to bear.

“Have you made up your mind already?”

Keith’s kneejerk reaction was denial, but it lingered on the tip of his tongue, held back by his own shame. He didn’t know how things had gone bad so quickly. He hadn’t meant to hurt Shiro, but with the possibility of a cure dangling in front of him, Keith couldn’t do anything but jump.

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to leave you.” Keith voice broke as he carefully traced down the side of his partner’s ruined cheek, and Shiro turned into his palm, to kiss the end of his lifeline. It was cruel, how leaving him with the Resistance felt just as final as staying.

Conflict flickered behind Shiro’s eyes, the golden band glowing bright around the dark iris, but his smile was an easy mask and he relaxed back down into the bed with Keith in his arms. He could be convincing, for Keith’s sake. “I’ve been fighting a long time. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure how to stop. I don’t think retirement would have suited me much.”

“No, Shiro, no.” Keith was quick to argue and wished he’d never brought it up. “You’ve given too much, you’ve earned this. I’m not going to drag you back to war, I’ll just finish this and…and I’ll come back.”

Shiro laced his fingers with Keith’s, watching the violet quintessence brighten Keith’s skin. There was a time when he would have led the charge to find a cure, so sure there had to be one out there somewhere. The years had proved him wrong and hope had become an enemy, but it burned in Keith and Shiro couldn’t tell him no. They’d lose everything soon enough anyways. “Do you think I’m going to just let go now that I found the strength to hold on? We’ll chase this cure together, and it looks like we’ve put together a crew that’s just crazy enough to stick with us too. Don’t worry about me, I can do one last mission.”

Keith hated himself a little,

“Last one.” Keith promised, wondering if he should have pushed harder but glad that Shiro was at his side. An impossible task somehow seemed a whole lot easier knowing his friend would help them through. “Together. Then we find some backwater fringe colony and see if we can grow your garden.”

Shiro nodded and closed his eyes. “Yeah, that sounds nice. Now let’s hear your plan for getting this virus to work.”

“Not yet.” Keith leaned in, carefully touching his forehead against Shiro’s, the way he’d been shown so many times before. He felt it when Shiro sighed, when he shuddered, his arms going around Keith’s waist to keep him steady. When Shiro leaned up, Keith kissed him. He wouldn’t have it any other way. Let me have you.  _Just this once, let me save you._

“Wasn’t there that one thing you wanted to do?”

 

* * *

 

This was a bad idea.

They all agreed that it was, but it didn’t seem to stop any of them. 

Shiro was their lead. It had been a long time since he’d been aboard the Resistance’s flagship, but he still knew his way around. Some things never changed much. It was an oddly comfortable thought. He could still remember the first time he’d been here and the awe at seeing such an enormous ship. The determination to find his place among the Resistance. The certainty they’d all had that they’d win. It all felt like another life.

Beside him, Hunk breathed in sharply and Lance put an arm around his friend to steady him.

“The target’s two corridors down.” Shiro said quietly. It was a terminal that linked into the central database, one that was heavily shielded to avoid remote access to prevent Galra access. “Look alive, team.”

“Don’t worry. Just get us in. Hunk and I have this covered.” Pidge was confident as always, possibly overly so, Keith thought.

“Wait. I see guards. Why are there guards?” Keith nodded down the hallway, his brows furrowed through the unpleasant surprise, but both Pidge and Shiro looked just as shocked. “We’re all on the same side, we can’t just go blasting our way in there.”

“No, fall back.” Shiro decided. “We’ll find another way in. Fighting will just get back to Matt, and-”

“Oh pbbbt.” Lance interrupted, taking full advantage of his shiny new eyebrows. “We don’t  _need_  to beat anyone up. We just need to keep them distracted as we sneak by. All you have to do is, y’know, catch their attention. Give ‘em a little of that charm and  _pizazz._ ” He paused, gave Keith a pointed once then turned to Shiro. “People on this station have been fighting for years, right? They’re pretty desperate?”

Keith raised an eyebrow and stared back, completely serious. “Is he talking about jazz hands? I don’t think that’s a good plan.”

“Wha- no! I mean, you flirt!” 

Lance looked like he was about to pull out his toaster again, so Pidge stepped in, putting a hand on his shoulder. Keith still didn’t look convinced. If possible, he looked even less convinced.

“What he means to say is, do what you do to get Shiro to like you.” Pidge explained breezily, ignoring every pointed stare sent her way. Shiro choked. “It doesn’t need to work forever. Just give us enough time to sneak in. Just do whatever works with Shiro.”

Keith sent Shiro a weighted gaze full of too much intent, and after a moment, Shiro shrugged. His ears folded against his head, cheeks still a tad too pink. “The longer we hang around here like this, the longer someone’ll notice. We need to get into that terminal. I know you can pull this off. You’ll be great.”

It was hard to argue with Shiro when he believed so vehemently, and Keith never wanted to let him down. He nodded once, sharply, then crossed the corridor like a man on a mission.

“He can do this right?” He heard someone ask, and Shiro’s proud “Of course!” gave him confidence.

Keith tapped a guard on the soldier. The Quvari looked down, startled, but Keith just stood straighter and said, “I just wanted to say, I would land on you.”

“… What?”

“If the artificial gravity was off, I’d land on you.” Keith paused, rethinking his words. “Wait, I did that wrong. I mean, I’d fall on you.”

“You’d fall  _on_  me?” The guards looked at each other in confusion. “Are you alright?”

Behind the corner, everyone stared at Shiro with silent judgement. “That’s what works on you?!” Lance whispered incredulously.

“Shut up, we’re in the middle of a mission.” Shiro whispered back. “Let’s get moving. Lance, you first. If they see you, that opens up too many questions that we don’t have time to deal with. Go!”

Lance went, and Pidge was right behind him. They snuck past the guards as Keith stammered out terrible, mangled lines, and disappeared into the terminal.

They made it all look so  _easy,_  Hunk frowned, pushing down on ground that still didn’t feel entirely real. The stone was too far away. But there was no backing out now. Pulling up his proverbial boots, Hunk raced for the terminal entrance, leaving Shiro behind.

He should’ve raced faster.

“Halt!”

“Me?”

Swiveling in place, his eyes wide as saucers - and almost as wide as Keith’s - Hunk pointed at the center of his chest. He could almost hear Shiro smacking his face from across the hall.

“Excuse me, _sirs_ , this is a restricted area. You’re both going to have to leave.” One of the guards said, squinting suspiciously before turning to guide them back the way they came. Back towards where Shiro was hiding!

Hunk croaked and jumped in front of the guard, his arms spread wide like he wanted a hug, but Hunk just gave the Quvari his most dazzling smile. Keith wondered how he did that.

“I’m Lord Hunk of the Fourth Division from Balmera Prime, this is my assistant who was giving me a tour of your ship. I think we’re a little bit lost.” Hunk watched the two guards straighten in surprise at his title and did his best to ignore Keith’s glower beside him. “Can I ask you both some questions? We haven’t had a chance to really talk to some of the Resistance fighters since we arrived and they’re all such heroes to us back at home. I’m dying to hear some stories.”

And as Shiro tiptoed across the hallway, Hunk slowly died inside.

Shiro didn’t stop until he was safely inside the terminal, and the door closed behind him.

“Where’s Hunk?” Lance asked, looking around like he thought Shiro was hiding him behind his back.

“He’s not going to make it. Come on, keep moving.”

“You left Hunk?!” 

“Hunk was supposed to hijack the external power routers.” Pidge said, giving Shiro a pointed once-over. “Can you do that?”

“Sure, no problem.” Shiro cracked his knuckles as he looked at the control panel. “I was trained on this ship, it’s been a while, but you never really forget some things. And don’t worry, Hunk will be fine. He’s got Keith as backup.”

“That doesn’t make it any better.” Lance fumed, about two seconds from blowing a gasket, but stepped back to let Pidge and Shiro work.

The Quvari was precise and efficient, quickly bypassing the outer layers of security to access the database inside. She pulled out a few long cables from the console and held them out to Lance with a wicked grin. “Let’s see if you’re worth your scrap, Lancebot.” She said, gesturing him down.

“It’s just Lance, but I’d settle for Hotshot. Oh, or Deadeye? I need to get a cool spy name like the rest of you.” He sighed but obeyed as she carefully opened the back of his cranial plate. “Be careful back there, I don’t want you messing up anything in my programming.”

“Why, afraid I might program you to be less obnoxious?” She teased.

“It’s called having a healthy self-esteem! It’s not my fault I’m the best-slash-most handsome one of the bunch. I just don’t want you reprogramming me into a chicken or something.” He jolted as she connected the wires to his central processing system. “Aaahh!! You did that on purpose!”

“No idea what you’re talking about, stop your squirming.” She connected the last few nodes, paused, then made a soft clucking sound.

“Stop that!”

“If you feel the urge to incubate eggs in your toaster parts, let me know?” She teased.

“Are we going to start decrypting stuff or what? I can’t make a connection with the database yet, I need to get at the data if you want me to start.” He complained. Pidge glanced over at Shiro who was half-buried beneath the console, the access panel pried off and set beside him.

“Uh, Shiro? Are you doing okay with those routers?” She asked and was rewarded with a snarl that echoed off the metal.

“Fine. Great. It’s all fantastic.” Shiro pulled himself out, face smeared with grease, and holding out a handful of random wires he’d yanked out with him. He flattened his ears against his skull and hissed his frustrations at the stupid machine, baring his fangs in challenge. 

Then stopped.

And turned towards his friends who were staring back at him with wide, unblinking eyes. One furry ear twitched.

“…It might have been a little longer since I was working with these systems than I realized.”

“Oh my god, we’re doomed.”

Shiro scowled at Lance, but the bot had buried his face in his hands and couldn’t appreciate it. Pidge elbowed past them both, all but shoving Shiro out of the way. She looked scandalized, and rubbed a gentle hand on the router’s panel. As he shuffled away, Shiro caught her whispering ‘it’s okay, he’s gone now.’

Shiro scowled harder.

“How much longer is it going to take? We’re already pushing our luck.” He said, and liked to think he sounded just as composed as ever.

“Well, I’m sorry. I wasn’t the one who left Hunk behind,” Pidge huffed. She’d buried herself under the console, taking over Shiro’s position, and all Shiro could see were the soles of her feet. 

Shiro frowned. Keith might not have been willing to hurt anyone, but if they were found out, there was a big chance that they’d have to fight their way to the Freedom’s hangar, no matter how respected the Champion was or where Pidge’s brother ranked.  

“There!” Pidge yelled, just as Lance added, “Beginning decryption now!”

The bot’s eyes flashed blue, coded data flashing by as he did a little dance of celebration. He held out his hand for a high five and Shiro indulged. “It should only be a few minutes, scanning for any mention of Blade of Marmora.”

“Uh.” Pidge kicked her feet, still lost in the bowels of the console’s access panel. “Guys, I think I’m stuck.”

Shiro laughed and grabbed the Quvari by her ankles, tugging and wiggling until she popped free, her hair standing straight on end. She scowled and rubbed her hands across her greasy face, just smearing the dirt around. “Don’t. Laugh.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Shiro said, giving her a wink. “How long do you think this will take?”

“I told you, I’m good at this. I can pinpoint data in a flash.” Lance bragged before making a loud  _PING_. “Got it, Blades of Marmora. There’s coordinates here of a last known location, but the file hasn’t been updated in a long time. Is that what we’re looking for?”

“It’s a start. If they’re not there, then maybe we can pick up the trail!” Pidge could barely contain her excitement, bouncing up on the balls of her feet. “This is really going to work, after so long, it’s so close!”

Lance  _PINGED_  again, eyes flickering back to normal. “I, um. I think I found something else?” He said nervously as he brought up a file on the display screen. Shiro’s stomach dropped and Pidge inhaled sharply.

“Project Zero. He  _knew?_ ” Her hands clenched down into fists, rage stealing away her ability to breathe for a moment. “After everything we went through to get it here, after Rover and Empyrea and Melemauna? We almost died, and the Resistance already knew about it?!”  

“They believe it’s a weapon that can spread the Galra virus to every organic being in the entire galaxy at once.” Shiro read from the screen, his voice devoid of any emotion. “They’ve known about its existence for years, they just didn’t know it was missing.”

“Their virus is a nanobot, it’s matter. How are they going to transmit it across the whole galaxy at once? It’s impossible!” Pidge shook her head, refusing to believe it could be real.

“Corrupted Altean technology.” Shiro said and Pidge covered her mouth in a gasp.

Lance pulled the wires from the back of his head and snapped his exterior plate back into place. “If the Resistance already knew about this Project Zero thing and how dangerous it was for years, why didn’t they do anything to stop it?”

No one had an answer for that.

Suddenly the alarms blared and all three of them winced as Matt’s voice broke over the public address system. “This is Captain Matt Holt, we’re preparing for our last jump before we reach Melemauna. Expect heavy Galra resistance, everyone to their battle stations. Full ship lockdown is now in effect. Jump commencing in ten… nine…”

It felt like everything stood still. The ground lurched as they moved into hyperspace.

Then they all burst into motion. Horror and disbelief warred with knowledge they weren’t fully ready to accept. They’d all thought they’d have more time, at least another day in case their plans went awry. They crashed through the terminal at full speed, but only Hunk and Keith were waiting for them, the guards long gone. Shiro could see his own fears reflected on his partner’s face, and they made his stomach plummet.

“I thought he couldn’t jump without leaving the smaller ships behind!” Hunk said.

“He can’t! This is insane!” Pidge yelled, and she took off running. She didn’t have to ask if they would go with her.

They should’ve been a sight, a ragtag group of civilians and soldiers sprinting through the halls, but there was no one to see them. Like a well-oiled machine, the Resistance ship was mobilized, and every agent had their own role to play in the upcoming battle. It would be a fight for their lives, and the existence of everything they held dear. Whatever the shortcomings of their leadership, the Resistance weren’t made of cowards.

Pidge skidded into the bridge at full speed and drew every eye, but she didn’t stop until she was face to face with her brother. The rest of them weren’t far behind. “What the Hell are you doing!?”

“Katie, you need to get back to your quarters now.” Matt gave orders easily, but Pidge bristled at the cool dismissal. She planted herself in front of her brother and refused to move.

“You’re really doing this? This is stupid! People are going to die just so you can make a point.” She raged. “The Galra took Melemauna, but you’re the one who’s going to destroy the Antalians.”

“I said get back to your quarters, I’ll deal with your insubordination later.” He gestured for one of the guards to remove her from the bridge, but Shiro stepped between them.

“Matt, this isn’t the way.” He faced down the leader of the Resistance with calm control, but his words carried throughout the room. Even the people who didn’t know Shiro stopped to listen to the Champion. “You know what’s out there, there’s a real threat we need to deal with. If we don’t find it, there won’t be anyone left to save.”

“There won’t be anyone left if we can’t convince those pompous assholes cowering on the Core Worlds to do something!” Matt glared up at Shiro, annoyed that his authority had been so publically challenged. “If we don’t band together, we’re done for. If they won’t join with us on their own, then we’ll scare them so badly, they won’t have a choice.”

“You’ve lost it, Matt.” Pidge whispered, edging closer to Shiro. “This isn’t going to save anyone.”

“Guards, removed them all from my bridge!” He snapped, but Pidge spun on her heel and marched out, dragging Hunk and Lance with her. Shiro shook his head and followed, leaving his old friend behind. This wasn’t the Resistance he’d sworn to follow.

Keith was the last one to leave. The Resistance had been as close to heroes as they got out on the fringes of the galaxy and there were still some out there to believe in, but their leaders were weak and afraid. He thought they’d find an ally here, but he’d been wrong about them. Along the way, he’d found the only partners he needed in this fight and they were going to find a way to win.

Shiro was waiting for him outside.

“We’re almost out of the jump. What now?” He asked, even if he already had an answer of his own. They moved forward. They had what they came for. He suspected that Pidge would’ve liked more time to talk to her brother, but nothing else had changed. The Blade of Marmora was waiting for them, and they were running low on time. The longer they stayed here, the more likely none of them would ever be able to leave.

“We get to the Freedom. As soon as they come out of hyperspace, we make a run for it. This is a doomed mission and we’re sitting ducks. If somehow they manage to win this, Matt is going to have us all court-martialed for insubordination.” Shiro said. “So we get the hell out of here and hope we make a hyperspace jump out of Melemauna’s system before we get caught in the crossfire. Pidge still hasn’t installed those guns she promised me.”

The joke was gentle, and Pidge managed a smile for all of them.

“Can they… can they really destroy Melemauna? I thought we could still change their minds.” Hunk trailed off, looking like he still wanted to say more, but couldn’t figure out what. Keith knew the feeling.

“We can’t stop this battle.” Shiro said softly. “But maybe we can stop this war. We just have to live through this.”

The Freedom was right where they’d left it, and this time, they all made their way to the bridge, strapping in for take off. Shiro and Keith took their position at the helm, the entire system lighting up for them like it would for no one else.

“You ready, buddy?” Shiro looked over and caught Keith’s smile.

“Ready.”

“Then let’s fire it up. Hang on tight, everyone. This is going to be rough.” The Freedom’s engines roared to life, the glow of its twisting tower of quintessence brightening in the heart of the garden. As soon as the hanger doors open, they burst out into space. The rest of the fleet surrounded them, massive ships that dwarfed their own.

Melelauna stood before them, large and foreboding, fleet after fleet of the once proud Antalian navy come to meet the Resistance head on. Fighters swarmed from the Resistance ships like insects as the Galra prepared to fire. A waste of lives, just another act of cruelty in this war. Keith was glad they’d never be a part of this, even as he hoped the Resistance would survive.

“We’ve got to get out of here before anyone targets us!” Hunk squawked as he strapped himself into his seat.

“I know, I know. We’re on it.” Keith said between his teeth. The ship almost seemed to come alive beneath his hands, picking up his intentions before he’d even input the coordinates. It reacted to him like he was Shiro, sharing a bond with each other and with the living ship itself. This was how it was meant to be piloted, the full range of the Freedom’s controls open to him. Keith laughed as he threw the ship into a spin, avoiding a large Resistance cruiser.

“We’re almost out, just get clear of the field and we can jump.” Shiro ordered. “I’ve got a path.”

“See it, I can get us through.” Keith gunned the engines, threading the needle through the ships with a wild grin. Adrenaline raced through his veins, power and speed and the rush of it all.

He didn’t count on planetary defenses still being active and trained on the incoming Resistance fleet. He didn’t plan for the shock wave from the blast that cut through the massive frigates, explosions sucked out into the vacuum of space and sending their small ship tumbling. The Freedom careened end over end from the blast as alarms blared and everyone screamed. The crew tumbled, emergency netting pulled tight and straining, equipment torn from their secure holdings and slamming into the walls. The control panel lit with red emergency lights as another blast from the Galra weapons clipped their stabilizers.

The hull breech warning screeched as the insides of the Freedom were ripped out into space. Shiro pleaded with his ship in an untranslated tongue, drawing every last bit of quintessence from the living engine to seal the breech. 

“HOLD ON!” He yelled, slamming the controls forward just as a Galra fighter flew straight towards them. They jumped into hyperspace seconds before it hit.

The stars above and beneath the bridge blurred behind its protective glass, swirling with color as they spun through the momentum of a hyperjump. And when it stopped, dumping them in some unknown, unmapped point in space, they were too late. The controls sparked, the first flicker of flame sending up acrid smoke as Pidge jumped up and sprayed coolant to smother the fire. 

“Everyone okay?” Shiro croaked.

But Hunk screamed, shocked and terrified, and when Shiro turned to face him, his entire world came to a halt. Keith was pinned to the ship’s dashboard, his mouth caught in a dead man’s scream. Out of his back was the jagged edge of a broken console, and it broke through his chest, cutting open the space his lungs should have been.

“No.” Whispered horror stole from his lips. Shiro stumbled forward before he even realized he was moving, reaching out for Keith. His partner. His friend. His  _love_. “No, no, no. You can’t go.” He babbled, like it could make any difference. The poisoned quintessence flared blindingly bright as he wrapped his hands around Keith’s body, pulling him free with more strength than Shiro knew was possible, before crumpling to the ground with him.

Shiro howled, a raw animal grief as he cradled Keith’s body in his arms. Blood spilled between his fingers as he pressed them against the wound, but it was too late to staunch the bleeding. Keith was gone, eyes that had once been filled with so much intensity now staring blankly up at him. “It wasn’t supposed to be you.” He sobbed. “I was supposed to go first, not you. Please don’t leave me, please. Keith, I need you.”

Something was wrong, but his mind refused to put together the broken pieces of the man he loved. The hole pierced through Keith’s ruined chest, but twisted metal took the place of shattered bone, mechanics concealed beneath the skin. A husk that hid the true monster beneath and one that Shiro knew all too well. The same monster that crawled in his own veins and sung to his thoughts like a siren’s call.

Keith was dead, if he’d ever been alive at all.

 

* * *

 

_–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission—_

_[Begin Playback]_

The camera was off-balance, focusing at an angle on an empty chair. In the distance someone was screaming in a dead language, but fury and pain were universally understood. Something shattered. The sound of breaking glass and crumpling metal echoed through the room.

Then there was silence.

_[End Playback]_

_–Recovery Incomplete: Transmission Corrupted—_

_–Recovery Incomplete: Transmission Corrupted—_

_–Recovery Incomplete: Transmission Corrupted—_

_–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission—_

_[Begin Playback]_

Shiro exhaled deeply and looked into the camera. His hair was falling into his eyes, white fringe held up in a tiny ponytail, still speckled with grey. He wore long sleeves and gloves, even alone, but his cheeks were no longer so gaunt, and his eyes no longer so haunted.

“I made contact with the Resistance.” Shiro said, looking at the far corner of the wall.

“For the first time, it feels like there’s a way out of this. It feels like there’s hope.”

_[End Playback]_


	13. Chapter 13

His chest wouldn’t stop aching, like the cold metal bands that twisted beneath his ribs had grown claws and were digging even deeper. Every breath left Shiro rattled. He wasn’t sure if it was worth the effort anymore. His was beginning to lose feelings in his arms and his thighs, the dead weight of another body finally taking its toll. He knew they were talking to him. He knew they were in trouble, he just…

“Shiro.” Pidge again, soft and uncertain.

It just wasn’t supposed to be Keith.

“Shiro please.” She whispered, her hand on his shoulder so light he could almost convince himself he didn’t feel it. “We have to get him to a secure location. Galra tech it might be…”

_ Contagious? _ Shiro wondered. There was no way of knowing, not with how quickly the Galra advanced and how quickly they adapted. Keith hadn’t been an ordinary drone. He must’ve been an elite, someone with infiltration programming, or Shiro would’ve noticed.

Shiro needed to believe that.

He looked away, swiping the back of his wrist across his eyes. He had to be careful. His hands were covered in- in too much.

“I’m taking him to the med-bay.” His own voice sounded rough to his ears as he gently picked Keith’s body up into his arms, cradling him like he was sleeping. If Keith, if the Galra was contagious, then no one else should touch the body. Shiro was already infected, there’d be no harm. As they moved through the ship, the others pulled away, too shocked and too afraid to help. He couldn’t blame them.

The med-bay was well-equipped, he’d always made sure of it. It had been his brother’s place on the ship, and he’d kept it fully stocked like Ryou had always taught him. There wasn’t anything in here that could bring back the dead, nothing to rebuild the pieces of a broken machine like this. Shiro moved by instinct alone, his thoughts and emotions detached. It was easier to let himself disassociate from the horror, to see the body in his arms as just another task to complete instead of… instead of his…

He retreated back into the numbness as he gently laid Keith’s body into the healing tube, sealing it tightly. There wasn’t anything left to heal, but it would keep the body quarantined until they could figure out what to do with it. Later, when he could think again. Shiro looked down at his hands, smeared with blood and oil, and felt his stomach rebel. He barely made it to the bathroom before he was sick, curled on the floor as his insides twisted.

An elite. A true Galra, no mindless drone caught from another world and infected. Had Keith been playing him this whole time? Using him to get to the Resistance and destroy them from the inside? Everything felt tainted now. The memories were thick with suspicion and doubt, and Shiro was terrified about what he’d unknowingly let into his heart.

They’d bonded, a brief moment when true love had forged an impossible connection among species and proved to Shiro that he wasn’t alone. But that was all a lie. A human didn’t have the ability to communicate like that. Loving Keith hadn’t changed anything. What had changed was the spread of his infection and the whispered voices of the Galra pressing against his consciousness now. He was becoming a drone, he was built for an elite to manipulate and control. He’d been used.

Shiro retched again, trying to purge the poison from his body.

He’d wanted everything with Keith, and he still did. It warred with the truth of what he’d witnessed, rushing through him like a storm, but there was nowhere to let it free. He wanted to scream or cry or rage, the urges bled together, each too strong to deny and leaving Shiro paralyzed in their deadlock.  

It wasn’t fair. _It wasn’t fair!_

When someone rapped on the door, Shiro flinched. 

“Shiro?” 

It was Pidge. Shiro should’ve guessed she’d be around. How much of her was real, he wondered, and the urge to be sick surged through him. He beat it back down, though just barely. If he started thinking like that, if he really thought that was true, then he was better off ending everything now. 

He washed his face with shaky hands and dried himself off slowly. On the other side of the door he could hear Pidge fidgeting, just like Keith used to. It was one of the tiny gestures that had made it all seem so real.

When the bathroom door opened, Shiro held his head high, a facsimile of a smile pressed across his face like it had been painted on. Pidge was surprised, it was too easy to see. 

“If you want to talk…” She started, trying to find the words, but Shiro cut in, almost smoothly enough to seem unbothered.

“We have a lot of work to do, Pidge. I think I’m going to need your help. It’s- it’s more than I know how to fix.”

Pidge stood up straighter. As expected. A bitter kernel settled in the pit of Shiro’s stomach, and he lowered his eyes to hide the ugliness behind them. 

“It-, it’ll be okay, Shiro. We’ll figure out how to fix things, you can count on us.” She said, opening her mouth to say more, but Shiro wouldn’t give her the chance. He brushed passed her, back out into the ship. “Wait, you don’t have to do this now. Leave it to us, you just rest for a bit.”

“We don’t have time to rest. How long do you think the Resistance is going to last at Melemauna?” The first flickers of rage crept into his voice and brought Pidge up short. “We patch the ship so it at least runs, we track down the Blade of Marmora people, and we end this one way or another.”

“But-”

“I need you in the cockpit getting our systems up and running.” Shiro’s order didn’t leave any room for arguing and Pidge withdrew with a worried look over her shoulder. He didn’t turn around to look, there was too much to do and he couldn’t let himself stop. If he stopped moving now, he’d break and he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to pick himself back up again.

With a sigh, Shiro looked around the ruined garden. Even though the ship had repaired itself from the breech, the loss of pressure and freezing cold of space had destroyed most of the plants. The flowers had fallen and the glassberry vines had withered. All of the little flitting pollen birds had been sucked out into space, and the twisting column of quintessence dancing above the pond in the middle of the floor had faded to just a thin crackle of energy. Shiro wasn’t a botanical engineer, he’d barely been able to keep his garden growing, but it didn’t matter much anymore. The ship was dying.

It shuddered in his mind, the connection tenuous and fading. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the garden died. They might be able to make it with just the reserve energy caught in the solar sails, but oxygen exchange would be a concern, as would food. All they had to do was get the ship enough power to finish their mission, then they could both rest.

In another life, he wouldn’t have come back. Shiro would have insisted that they leave the war to someone else and found a quiet world to share the last few months they had together. Somewhere his plants could have put down real roots and maybe someday, a piece of his lost world would have survived. It would have been nice to know that something survived.

Now they’d die together.

 

* * *

 

“Are you sure we should be here?”

“Better us than Shiro.”

Hunk opened his mouth to protest, but- no. Absolutely not. Grief was still too close to the surface, and humor felt clumsy when he couldn’t detach himself enough to really sell it. He didn’t know exactly what had happened between their captain and Keith, but Hunk wouldn’t wish this on Shiro.

They stood outside of Keith’s cabin, bogged down with equipment. They each held a pair of the Galra tech sensors that the Resistance used, where Pidge had gotten them, Hunk didn’t know. If Keith really was a spy, there might have been more on board that he’d hidden. It was a disquieting thought, but not the only one.

“Are we going to have to do Shiro’s room, too?” Hunk asked, and Pidge inhaled sharply.

“Let’s not think about that yet.”

“Right.” They shared a glance. Hunk shrugged, and Pidge winced. Then she reached out and opened the door to Keith’s room.  

The quarters were mostly bare, nothing personal stored on the small shelves or in the little set of drawers. Keith hadn’t brought anything with him and hadn’t picked up much in his travels, like he had been planning on leaving at any moment. Or was too afraid to put down roots. The bed was still rumpled and unmade as if he’d only woken up moments before and the pair looked away, trying to focus on their task instead of missing a friend who might very well have been their greatest enemy.

A long knife lay on the table beside the bed and Pidge swept the blade with her scanner. It beeped once, picking up the strange metal that gave off faint Galra signals, but nothing electronic or infectious. A tiny tree sat beside it in a little pot, the leaves a silver-veined green and covered with small white flowers that seemed to glow with their own light like little stars. A survivor from the garden, a bit of life in the sterile room. Pidge wondered if it had been a gift or if Keith had stolen the tree for his own.

“I can’t find anything.” Pidge said with a sigh of relief.

“But what does that mean?” Hunk glanced around almost nervously. “Was he not spying on us or did he hide things better? Was he…was he really bad?”

Pidge put a hand around Hunk’s shoulders, to comfort him and to hold on to something when everything else felt so uncertain. “I don’t know. I had no idea he was Galra, I don’t think anyone did.”

The commiseration settled between them, not entirely comfortable, like an overstarched blanket but warm all the same.

“I’ve never met an elite before,” Hunk confessed. Every day it seemed more and more clear that he was in over his head, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted someone to tell him it was okay to stop or to push him on. The contradictions left his head spinning and made him feel like the worst sort of hypocrite, but backing down now just felt wrong. They were supposed to be a team.

Even if it was Keith who’d said so.

Pidge smiled grimly. “I’ve fought against two, but never directly. They were… They weren’t disguised like Keith.”

“They were purple?” Hunk asked, arching an eyebrow at such a precise angle that Pidge realized that must’ve been where Lance got it, and she laughed.

“Yeah. At least our guy wasn’t purple.”

Despite it all, he still felt like their guy. He still felt like Keith. That was probably the point.

“Can I help with repairs?” Hunk asked at length. “I’ve never seen a ship like this before, but I’m good with machinery. I promise not to blow anything up.”

“I don’t think you will. I’m better with the programming stuff, this level of engineering? I could use a lot of help. This ship is one-of-a-kind, half the systems are some blend of tech and organic, and I-” Her voice broke and she swallowed hard. “If I hadn’t insisted that we do this, then we’d still be safe with the fleet and Keith would still be alive.”

Hunk was thoughtful, turning back to look around the empty room, the small flowering tree and the glittering knife the only signs someone had made this place home. “But you think that your virus software could work, right? Ending the war is worth the risk.” He’d never said anything like that before. The war had always been someone else’s problem, a distant threat. Balmera Prime was safe and untouchable, everyone he loved was far away from the fighting. It was just newscasts and recordings of faraway worlds, none of it felt real.

But Keith had been real. Spy or friend, he’d been real and now the war had taken him. Hunk had watched him die and knew that he could be next, any of them could. Fleets and planetary defenses didn’t matter when the Core Worlds were falling, and as much as he loved Lance, finding a way to make him organic would have to wait. They might not have chosen to be out here like this, but they could choose to help now.

Pidge hesitated, but Hunk could see the way she pulled herself up, her resolve solidifying with every passing moment.

“I know it will,” she said, and there was no room for argument. 

“For Keith.” Hunk pressed closer, and he was gentle enough to pretend not to notice where her eyes darkened with tears.

For Keith, they would make it count.

 

* * *

 

After they finished, they found Shiro in the engine room. His back was to them, the eerie light of the quintessence pool reflected across his face. He was feeding it what could be salvaged from his gardens, and the light seemed to flare with every new addition. A new crop of the little worker birds had come up, but they were young and feeble, jumping rather than flying from damaged branch to damaged branch. Nothing was wasted on their ship. The implications made Hunk shudder.

“Hey.” He called out. Startling Shiro now didn’t seem like a good idea. The captain turned to them with a steady gaze, expression unreadable in the harsh light. It was enough to make Hunk wince.

“We’re done with Keith’s room.” Pidge chewed the inside of her cheek and squared her shoulders. Then like pulling off a bandage, she added, “We were wondering if we could check yours.”

Hunk expected Shiro to scowl, or to tell them off, or any sort of reaction at all, but he just nodded.

“We’ll take care of it, you don’t have to worry.” Pidge promised. Anything they could do to lessen his burden, they would. She headed off towards the Captain’s cabin, but Hunk stopped, turning back to watch Shiro destroying his ship just to give them enough power to fly.

“Shiro?” He asked quietly. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I’m fine.” Shiro answered flatly, feeding another broken branch into the thin stream of quintessence.

Hunk walked back to Shiro’s side and knelt next to him, close enough that their elbows brushed. It was just that smallest touch that knocked Shiro off balance, breaking his precarious control. “I-I have to mark what happened. I have to remember him, someone has to remember. I don’t have time left and then no one is going to know.” Shiro’s hands were shaking as Hunk wrapped his own around them.

“We’re all gonna remember him. This whole thing, it’s been way more intense than I could have ever imagined, but I’m glad we came. You guys, all of you fight so hard even when I’d rather turn around and run home, and you do it for people like me and Lance. I’m never gonna forget any this.” He squeezed his hands as Shiro took a shuddering breath. “You don’t have to do all of this alone.”

Hunk didn’t think he’d ever said so much to Shiro in one go. It felt like he was walking around blindfolded, and had already made a wrong turn. All of a sudden he was a little boy again, fighting back tears because he couldn’t get nuggets'n'fries for dinner and didn’t understand why his adoptive family looked so sad when he asked. What went unsaid always hurt the worst, in the spaces between words and where stares wouldn’t meet. Hunk didn’t think he’d ever be good at dealing with them, but he wanted to be.

Shiro looked down at their hands, squeezing once, but when Hunk held firm, something in him seemed to settle.

“I don’t want this to be for nothing.”

“It won’t be.” Hunk promised, and he didn’t care that he might not be able to keep it. He was going to try. They were all going to do the best that they could. He thought about Pidge’s resilience and her bravery. He thought about how much of that Keith had to match just to convince them all. Maybe it wouldn’t be enough, but it was all they had. “We’re going to make this count.”

The thin crackle of quintessence sputtered to life, the engines humming around them. A whoop of triumph echoed down the hall followed by a crash, then racing footsteps as Lance burst into the garden. “All the power came back on! Everything’s working.”

Hunk glanced over at Shiro, but the other man gave him a tired smile before pulling him in for a quick hug. “Thanks. Okay, we’re still in this.” He pushed himself to his feet and headed to the cockpit, giving Lance’s shoulder a squeeze as he passed. The robot startled at the touch, a fragile smile breaking over his face.

“Lance, you okay, buddy?”

“Yeah.” Lance helped Hunk to his feet and grabbed his best friend in a hug. “It’s just… sad. I’ve never been sad like this before. He lost someone he cared about, I never really thought about it before.” He pulled back and pressed his face against Hunk’s cheek, as much of a kiss as he could manage.

“C’mon, we’ve got to help.” Hunk hid his blush and pushed Lance towards the cockpit. “They’re counting on us.”

“I’m right behind you.” The team needed them and for the first time since Lance gained his awareness, he thought he understood what that meant.

 

* * *

 

By the time, Hunk and Lance reached the bridge, the others were already hard at work. The co-pilot chair had disappeared completely, as had the mess around it. If Hunk didn’t know what had happened, he wouldn’t have thought to look. Pidge was at the controls this time, working between the console and her wrist display, and she let them crowd around her.

“I think I have a jump path set out. Shiro?”

Hunk was looking over her numbers, just as Shiro nodded.

“I don’t know where this goes.” Shiro said softly. “I’ve never been that far out of the system.”

“Well we weren’t expecting these guys to be easy to find.” Hunk pointed out.

“But it’s a planet right? We’re not just jumping around into deep space?” Lance frowned. He burrowed himself against Hunk’s side, and Hunk wordlessly tucked him against him so he could get a better view.

“Looks like it.” Pige didn’t even swat them away, giving them all a chance to check her work. She meant to provide reassurance and to find it given at the same time. They’d gone past the point of no return. Even if they wanted to, there was nowhere that would take them, not if they wanted to make any real difference in the war. “Are you guys ready?”

“Ready.” Shiro put his hands on the controls, feeling the weak connection to the ship. Despite everything, it was still alive and ready to fly, he wasn’t going to give any less. He punched in the coordinates and jet their jump to hyperspace as the stars melted around them.

He stood at the controls, keeping his ship together as they jumped again and again. Shiro never left his post, never allowed himself to sleep as the hours stretched into days, then weeks. He told himself the mission was too important to allow himself to rest, but he knew the truth. The machine had taken over, he didn’t need to sleep anymore. Pidge and Hunk had to remind him to eat and to take his medication, though Shiro didn’t see the point. Lance tried to make him smile, perching in the Captain’s chair to talk and fill the silence with words, anything to help. He was grateful, but also, he was tired.

They heard nothing of the Resistance, or of Melemauna.

By the time they reached their destination, the engines were sputtering and the power depleted. Shiro whispered words of encouragement in a dead language as he brought the Freedom down to land on the small planet that filled their viewscreen. “Pidge, give me a readout at what I’m looking at.”

“Uh, hang on.” She typed a few commands into her wrist display, trying to translate the language on the console. “Looks like we’ve got lots of lifesigns, but I’m not picking up any tech signatures or energy emissions. Whatever’s down there, it doesn’t look like there’s cities or actual people.”

“I think you’re wrong on that.” Lance said as he pointed to the planet’s surface below them. Impossibly enormous trees reached up towards them, their leaves a deep blue that almost hurt to look at. The thick jungle canopy was broken by stone pyramids, worn and ancient, some crumbling down below the trees. The crew gasped and pushed closer to the viewscreen to get a better look. “Pretty sure that somebody built all of that, the question is if they’re still here.”

Hunk whistled under his breath. “You think these Blades of Marmora guys are somewhere in those ruins? How are we ever going to find them?”

“I don’t know yet, but we’ll figure it out.” Pidge was determined. “If they’re really here, then we’ll find them. We have to.”

It sounded like a threat, even if Pidge didn’t mean it that way.

“I think we need a closer look,” Hunk said, tone decidedly chipper. “You know what they say, you don’t really know what you’re seeing until you have a look. Unless it’s a Weblum. You can pretty much tell what those are, from a mile away.”

“Good idea. I’m taking us down.”

It shook them free of their hesitation, just like Hunk’d wanted, and Shiro eased the engines into a descent. The sun reflected off the forest canopy, but as they sank lower, the vibrant blue of its many leaves became easier to look at. The ship landed with a disheartening thud that seemed to echo through its hull. Hunk watched Shiro’s ears flick back, and it said too much that the captain let them see even that much.

They disembarked together, but when Pidge turned back, she had to stifle a gasp. They’d all known that the ship had some capacity for regeneration, but they took for granted how well it worked. They never expected the damage to last. Where the ship had been breached was an angry jagged line, the bark and metal discolored where it had been sealed. Like a scar. Shiro looked up at with tired eyes. Then he turned away.

“Let’s go.”

As Pidge reactivated her scanners, Lance fell into place beside Hunk, quietly reaching out for him. He cast a quick glance at the rest of their party, and only when he was confident in their privacy did he speak up. “This looks bad.”

“We’re gonna do it anyways.” Hunk wiped the sweat from his forehead and readjusted his bandanna. The air was oppressively hot and humid, it felt like a weight against his skin. It was terrifying and _beautiful_. They hadn’t been off of Balmera Prime since he was a child and Lance was just a little program housed in a handheld bot he’d designed as a toy. He barely remembered it then, but he didn’t think it was anything like this. The trees stretched up so high overhead that their tops were almost lost against the sky and cast heavy shadows as they walked. Bright colored lizards darted from the branches on leathery wings, chirruping in alarm as they passed. Heavy vines wound their way around the ground, making it difficult to walk, and things rustled from the thick underbrush, just out of view.

He was afraid, but that didn’t stop him anymore. There were people who needed him, who relied on him for the very first time, and it made him feel brave. He looked over at his best friend and smiled. “Are you nervous?”

“Me? No! Even if this place is humid enough to make me rust. I can totally handle anything, you know that.” Lance bragged, but he kept his optical sensors on the jungle around them. “I can spot danger from a hundred feet away. I’ll keep you all safe, don’t even worry about it.”

“It’s okay to be nervous.” Hunk whispered.

Lance raised one of his eyebrows. “Aren’t I supposed to be telling you that?”

“Only if I get to tell you it back.” Hunk grinned as his friend huffed, trying to find a flaw in his perfectly flawless argument, and when Lance started pouting, he just grinned wider.

“I’m trying to look out for you. I take that very seriously.” Lance said, and something about his tone edged them away from humor and into something almost uncomfortably honest. Hunk squeezed his hand. He’d been doing it since before he’d given Lance the propery pressure sensors to really notice, and Lance loved that Hunk had always given him as much as he could, even when he didn’t have to. “When this is all over…” he started, and had to stop. It made no sense. He had the words planned out. His mind was a super computer, and he knew Hunk long enough that he could predict his reaction with almost complete certainty. Yet he still hesitated. “I think we should go back. Once we can. Once it’s safe.”

“Lance.”

“I think you were right about it before,” he continued, like Hunk hadn’t interrupted, but he couldn’t stop the way his voice softened. “We’re in over our heads. The upgrades can wait. We’ll find a way. Maybe not now… I just… I can’t lose you.”

“We can’t leave them in the middle of this. If we don’t fight, then we could lose more than just each other.” Hunk whispered and Lance hated to admit he was right. Friends were a complicated thing he was trying to understand. Lance wasn’t sure he liked it.

“What about if there’s nothing here?”

Lance was the first to speak it out loud, but they’d all been thinking it, and something unpleasant sat in the center of Hunk’s chest. They had no way of knowing how accurate the Resistance’s information was, and it had been updated so long ago, that they could just be chasing shadows.  “I don’t think I’m ready to give up yet.”

Around them, the jungle opened up into a clearing at the base of one of the ruins, it’s crumbling stone walls breaking through the canopy above and letting the sunlight filter through. Some kind of small hairy creatures swung from the trees, screeching at them as they intruded before retreating back behind the leaves. 

“Whoa…who do you think built all of this?” Hunk breathed as Pidge scanned for an entrance. He wouldn’t have bet that the Blade had built the great temples, at least not recently. Anyone who’d used them must have been long gone. 

“Dunno, but there’s something ahead. Some kind of energy signal inside there? The stone is interfering with my scans, that’s why I couldn’t get any readings from the ship.” She stepped closer and ran her hand along the smooth stone. “It’s like there’s conduits running on the inside, maybe they’ll show us how to get in?”

Shiro stepped forward without a word and pressed his hand against the stone, the violet infection flaring to life. It didn’t feel Galra, but he could sense the pulse of something from one machine to the other. He curled his hand into a fist and smashed it through the stone, light bleeding from his skin as he found one of the conduits and forcibly redirected the energy.

White light split the stone above them into smooth lines, a hidden entrance materializing out of the side of the pyramid as the others stared in shock. Shiro shook his hand and gestured. “Let’s go.”

“Holy shit.” Lance whispered as Hunk gulped.

“That was useful. The signals go all the way into the building,” Pidge said, voice a notch higher than it had been a second ago as she fought to hide her relief. She hurried forward, and Shiro’s ears flattened against his head, but he didn’t try to stop her. He just raced on. There was no time for hesitation, but with every step they took, the light of the entrance grew fainter and fainter.

The floor was jagged and uneven, the most mundane of all the risks they faced, but it was enough to make them hesitate. All of them except Pidge. She’d latched onto a pattern and refused to give up until she could see how it played out.

“It ends just through there,” she said, gesturing to what looked like just another wall, but Lance didn’t need confirmation. There was a charge in the air, something sharp enough that even the organics were noticing. “We have to find another way through. I can’t get a better reading. The stone’s still blocking everything but-”

“Wait.” Lance started, just as Shiro said, “There’s no time.”

Shiro stepped forward and punched through the stone.

Just as it crumbled, a sound blasted from the walls loudly enough that the crew covered their ears and cried out in pain. The ground shook beneath them and bits of rock tumbled down from the walls. The glowing lines of golden energy crisscrossed the stone, blazing where threads of metal had been embedded and forming wires that connected the scattered pieces of an unknown body. The power was unmistakable. They were charged with quintessence.

The machines pulled themselves together, cables of red-orange fire twisting together into giant monsters with spidery legs that stepped from the walls itself. One sharp insect-like leg slammed down into the middle of the travelers, sending them stumbling back as cracks spread across the stone floor.

“What the hell are those things?!” Lance shrieked as he yanked Hunk back.

“Get everyone out of the way.” Shiro snarled, ears flattened as his own glowing quintessence flared to match their enemies. His arm seemed to fuse into solid metal, too bright to look at directly. He launched himself off the ruble, slashing through the giant metal spiders’ legs and leaping through the air with a dancer’s grace.

“I’m gonna try to get into the central command system.” Pidge raced towards the hole the creatures had left in the wall, desperately scanning for where the remaining power conduits came together. “There has to be a shut off switch or something.”

The spider creature shifted, its amorphous body twisting into something new. Legs fused together into a weapon with a glowing tip as energy gathered before firing off a blast that left a scorching hole in the stone. Shiro barely had time to react, rolling back out of the way and wind-milling up to his feet. With a yell, he slid under the creature’s grasp and thrust his hand through its weapon, sending the laser gun skidding off across the room.

Shiro didn’t see the second creature pull itself from the wall, burning cables like tentacles whipping out towards Shiro’s unprotected back. Lance was moving before he realized it, barreling into Shiro with his full weight. “Look out!” The red hot cables snapped across his body, searing through metal and scoring through his systems. He screamed as sparks flew from his chest.

It was the opening Shiro needed to retaliate. Like an acrobat, he pushed off the ground and then the walls, using the tight space of the hallway to his advantage. Before the creature could withdraw, he’d struck, metal arm tearing into its cranium. It was destroyed before Shiro hit the ground.

“Lance!” He barked, but Hunk was already by his friend’s side, face a mask of horror. There was a rumbling in the distance, the sound of shifting stone as another of the guards began to come free.

“My toaster!” Lance wailed as Hunk held him, but there wasn’t time for repairs. The shifting spider machine shook the entire pyramid, backing Shiro into a corner as the Koryu panted for breath. His lungs were too full of metal to breathe and fatigue had set in. It was now or never.

Hunk pulled himself up and raced towards the fallen laser weapon, straining to lift the heavy mass of metal off the floor. He yelled as he finally hoisted the enormous weapon to his shoulder, firing off round after round into the remaining guardians. Laser blasts tore through metal and the burning orange glow flickered before fading as the creatures shut down. They collapsed against the floor in a tangled heap as Hunk dropped the gun and stood defiantly, shaking badly but unafraid.

“Hunk?” Lance called out for him and Hunk was by his side immediately, helping the wounded robot hold himself together.

“I’m right here, I’ve got ya. Don’t worry, I’ll fix everything.” Hunk promised as he held Lance back to his feet. The two clung together as Shiro picked his way carefully over the fallen guardians.

“We must have tripped some kind of booby-trap.” He said, kicking one twisted cable.

“I’ve got it!” Pidge shouted as the lines of light flickered back on, illuminating the temple around them. They tensed, waiting for the next attack but no creatures slithered into existence.

And still, they waited, unwilling to trust the respite.

“Are they gone?” Lance whispered.

They looked at Pidge like she had the answer, and she stumbled, still trying to get her feet under her. “I think so? I don’t know.”

“Were they the Blade? Are we looking for them?”

“I don’t know.” Pidge said, gritting her teeth as she pulled herself out of her nook, dusting herself off with unsteady hands.

“Because if we’re not than this, than all of this is-”

“I don’t know, okay!” Pidge snapped, rounding on him only to immediately recoil. The armoured coating of Lance’s chassis had been torn apart like it was nothing more than ribbon. He was talking, yes, but distracting Hunk in the same breath, easing the tension in the young Lord’s shoulders as Hunk tried to make the most of what little they had. Now he looked just as shaken as she felt. “I don’t know. I can’t okay? But they have to be here. They have to be here or it’s all- it’s all…”

She swayed on the spot, gritting her teeth against the horror and fear that’d had too much time to fester. Weeks of silence, weeks of mourning, all for one desperate gamble, and Pidge knew only too well what happened if they lost. She turned, and Shiro was there, the consummate soldier who hadn’t lost any battle but was on the brink of losing a war. When she took a step forward, he pulled her in, hugging her so tight she thought she would break.

“I’m sorry.” Lance said, his voice box crackling. It must have been damaged.

“I’m sorry,” Pidge repeated. “We’ll find them.”

She would tear the universe apart if she had to. They held on to each other, gathering around Lance to try and put him back together.

No one noticed the first rustle of movement, or the twist of shadow, but when the lights went out, none of them were prepared.

Shiro’s arm activated, painting the walls in the glow of poisoned quintessence, but it was too late.

They were surrounded.

The voices in Shiro’s head whispered louder, an irresistible compulsion that almost swept away the last shreds of his control. He held up his hands, the violet glow reflected from the masked fighters that circled them.

“Blades of Marmora? We need your help.”

 

* * *

 

_ –Recovery Complete: Play Transmission— _

_ [Begin Playback] _

Shiro sat in front of the camera, an almost feverish light in his dark eyes. He looked older than the last recording, tired but without the gaunt hopelessness.

“I met the Paladin.” He said, his voice almost reverent.

“I had no idea there was a war. We never knew, there was no way we could have been prepared and they wiped us out before we had a chance. But there’s people out here who’ve been fighting for years. Centuries. They say they have a way to kill these Galra, the machines that did this.”

Shiro held up his arm, the violet circuitry spreading from his wound like veins through his skin. Metal flakes had replaced warm skin, the machine eating away at him piece by piece.

“Ryou gave me a chance to live and I’m going to spend it paying these Galra back for everything they’ve done to us. I’m going to make them remember Koryusai.” Fangs glinted as Shiro spat his promise, violence lurking in his words.

“The Paladin has a plan and if I’m lucky, a cure too. Ryou’s work might lead us to finding a way to stop the infection once and for all. I know he would have liked that. The Resistance is going to me to fight and I’m not going to stop until we win. The Galra have no idea what they’ve created.”

_ [End Playback] _


	14. Chapter 14

“You don’t think they’re going to infect us, do you? I don’t want to be Galra. Why would they keep us here for days if they were just going to infect us? Oh Light, you don’t think they already have and they’re just waiting for the… the metal to  _hatch_  or something?” Hunk gasped and put a hand to his chest. “I think I can feel it already.”

Pidge didn’t even look up from where she was sprawled on a single giant pillow on the floor, staring up at the stone ceiling. “Hunk, calm down. If they were going to hurt us, they would have done it days ago. Just sit down and relax.”

“How can you relax?” Hunk’s voice climbed in pitch, but he finally dragged another pillow over and flopped unhappily down on it. They hadn’t been hurt, that was true, but no one had shown up to answer their questions. The Blades of Marmora, if that’s who they really where, had appeared out of nowhere once they’d accidentally set off the ancient security system in the ruined temple. They’d somehow made this place their home, living deep in the interconnecting tunnels beneath the temples dug by an extinct civilization eons passed. Even if there weren’t bars on the door, the implication was clear: they weren’t going anywhere.

They were unarmed, outnumbered, and out-maneuvered. The Blade of Marmora had taken everything, from Pidge’s wrist display to the Balmeran crystals that Hunk wore as earrings. In theory, Hunk understood how they could be used as a power source and eventually weaponized, but mostly he just wanted them back because his brother had given to them on his birthday. If Shiro’s arm hadn’t been stuck to the rest of him, they’d have taken it, too.

Most of all, they’d taken Lance.

His heart raced just thinking about it. The fear was so thick, it made bile creep up the back of his throat, threatening to overcome him. He’d never been so far from Lance for so long. All those years ago, when people would tease him about his attachment to his projects, he’d yell his defiance and claim that Lance was the best friend he could ever have. Then somewhere along the way, it’d become the truth, cables and bolts be damned. If he didn’t come back from this, Hunk didn’t know what he would do. 

Days had passed. He couldn’t get Pidge to freak out like he was, and Shiro was…

Hunk looked to the far end of the room, where Shiro lay motionless on a sheet, so still it almost didn’t look like he was breathing. Shiro wasn’t doing well.

“Because they’re listening.” Pidge whispered in a hiss.

Maybe she wasn’t as put together as Hunk thought.

“We’ll get out of here, even if we have to level this place to the ground.” Pidge swore. There was an edge in her voice, an almost dramatic tilt in her jaw. Hunk didn’t know if she meant it for him or their wider audience, but he appreciated it all the same.

“But what do they want from us?”

Pidge faltered, deflating right before Hunk’s eyes as she sank back into her cushion. “I don’t know.”

Everything they’d wanted, they seemed to have taken from Shiro. On the first day, he’d been pulled away, just like Lance. When he’d come back, he was withdrawn and tired, almost too exhausted to walk. He told them it was an interrogation, and that he didn’t have anything about the Resistance worth sharing. He told them the ship refused to let them in. He told them he hadn’t seen Lance. By the third day they interrogated him, he came back in a stretcher.

On that day, the Freedom opened up for them. They took Keith.

A stone barrier shifted on the other end of the room, sliding into the wall. They were on their feet immediately.

“Where are our friends?” Hunk planted himself right in front of the biggest of the Blades, the Galra’s face hidden behind a blank mask. The only sign that the Galra had heard him was a quick annoyed lash of his tail. “You can’t just keep us here, give them back!”

A shorter Galra stepped forward and pulled his mask from his face, frowning at the group with a stony expression. “Antok rarely speaks. “I’m Kolivan, your friends are unharmed.”

Shiro had gone stock-still, his expression a stoic mask that put Pidge on edge as well. There hadn’t been this many of them to collect him during the last few times.

“Listen, Kolivan or whatever.” Hunk was on a rant and nothing was going to stop him. He squared off against Kolivan, glaring up into his furry face and unblinking yellow eyes. Fear didn’t matter when his friends were in trouble and even something as terrifying as a Galra was just another obstacle to getting them back safely. “You’ve kept us locked up here for days, I want our friends back  _now_.”

“Your friends were injured, we’ve been taking care of them as we’ve been taking care of you.” Kolivan said evenly, not in the least intimidated by the raging human. “Which is more than we needed to do after you hunted us down and brought a weapon into our home.”

“Injured!” Hunk sputtered. Keith had been a whole lot more than  _injured,_  and if they were doing things to him, that was sick. “We didn’t bring a weapon, we were looking for your help! We were the one attacked by your giant robo-spiders, remember?”

“The guardians of the temple were built millennia before the Blades found this place.” Kolivan held up Pidge’s wrist device in his fist, turning his attention to the Quvari. “This. Is the Resistance still determined to wipe us all out in the name of winning? We’ve told your people before, we are not going to lie down and die so you can wipe the Galra from the galaxy. We’re warriors, not murderers. But your Resistance have a way of forgetting what is inconvenient.”

There was an intensity in his gaze that he leveled first at Pidge, then at Hunk. It was enough to silence them both, if only for a moment.

“That’s-” Pidge started. Swallowing thickly, she turned to face the Galra. Despite the way he towered over her, it wasn’t fear that held her back, but something that would have looked like shame on anyone else. “We didn’t come here to hurt anyone. We were looking for help.”

“Your program has been extracted and your request is denied. You and your friends will be taken off-world as soon as our technicians are complete.”

“No!” Pidge protested. “That virus was our only hope!”

“If your only hope is genocide, then you will find no sympathy here.” Kolivan sneered.

“You can’t do that!” Pidge balled her hands into fists. “My parents died to make that work, it’s the only chance we have to save everyone. The Galra have taken Melemauna, the other Core Worlds are next. We don’t have time!”

Kolivan paused, glancing at his companion Antok. “You are a Holt?”

“You knew my parents?”

“You have the same disregard for civilian lives.”

Pidge looked ill.

“Can you stop- just stop!” Hunk demanded, stepping between the two before he could second-guess himself. It felt like everything had spiraled out of control in seconds, and he was still playing catch up, but he’d seen enough to know that they were heading in the wrong direction. He rounded on Kolivan, gritting his jaw in a bid to steady himself. “We came here looking for help. Whatever this thing is, you guys and the Holts have history, and that’s important, yeah, but right now the Galra are getting ready to attack the Core worlds and take down the rest of the galaxy. Isn’t- isn’t there anything we can do?”

“This is not our fight.” If there was sympathy behind Kolivan’s words, they couldn’t find it.

Pidge almost launched herself at the Galra. Hunk wrapped an arm around his friend, unmoving and unflinching, braver than he’d ever felt in his entire life. After a moment, Kolivan sighed. “It matters not. Captain Shirogane, we have come to a decision.”

For the first time, Shiro moved closer. There was an unsteadiness in his gait that made both Hunk and Pidge at hold their breath, but he held his head high. “I thought I wasn’t Galra enough for you.”

“Your doubts remain, then.” Kolivan said, but he didn’t sound like he was surprised.

“Does it matter?” Shiro met him with a steady stare, a cold gleam in his eyes. Kolivan didn’t turn away.

“No. It doesn’t.”

Pidge stepped closer, wrapping an arm around Shiro’s waist, defiance radiating through every inch of her. Hunk wasn’t far behind, with a hand on Shiro’s shoulder, and when the captain leaned into their touch, neither of them commented. It had been a difficult few days.

“What are you talking about?” Pidge asked softly, still unwilling to pull away.

“They want to wake Keith up.”

“What? C-can you do that?” Hunk asked in quiet shock. They’d all watched him die, he’d been torn apart. There wasn’t much that could be done to fix a wound like that. Shiro hadn’t mentioned Keith  _once._

“We’ve helped you more than you know, we’re just not willing to help you kill our people.” Kolivan said, interrupting their reunion. “Your elite friend has been badly damaged, we’ll do what we can to repair him, but we are more than just unfeeling bits of machinery no matter what you think of us. Even if we can heal him, he will need more to bring him back. If his central programming is damaged, he may never wake up.”

“Then tell me what I need to do.” Shiro was resolute. Tired and beaten with deep purple bruising beneath his eyes from the sleepless nights, running on clockwork and grief, he refused to let himself rest if there was work to do.

“There is nothing  _you_ can do.” He considered Shiro dispassionately. “But a drone might be able to guide him through. Like a radio tower, provided his central processing unit recognizes it.”

Shiro growled, low in his throat, tired of an argument that he already felt had been beaten to death but still unwilling to surrender. It seemed Kolivan was just as stubborn, or just as unwilling to concede his point.

“You were the one who brought an enemy into our midst, Champion. Did you think we wouldn’t find him?”

“You were never welcomed on my ship.”

“Your ship was never welcomed here.” Kolivan frowned. “We can guide him back, perhaps, but his programming is fragmented and damaged. If one of us tried to link with him, it’s more than likely that he will resist. But they way he’s reacted to our stimulus is clear. Your friend desperately wants to see you.”

Shiro felt his heart thud in his chest, and he hated it. It felt like Kolivan knew exactly how to push to rile him up and even considering his deal was giving the Galra what he wanted. It had been that way for the last few games. He was playing a game of chess with half his pieces missing, and every time Kolivan spoke he could hear him in the back of his mind.

All Shiro would have to do was give in their programming, and every possibility of bringing Keith back made his knees buckle. He just didn’t think the Blades were working out of the goodness of their hearts.

“What are you going to do to him? How far are you going to go?” Pidge tightened her arms around Shiro. “We’re not going to let anything happen to him.”

Kolivan looked almost regretful, the first flicker of genuine emotion on his face. “I don’t know. We don’t have drones in the Blades, we refused to help the Empire subjugate other races. There is no guarantee that it would work or that it won’t further degrade your infection. I don’t know enough about your organic components to be sure.”

“I accept.” Shiro pushed himself up to his feet and swayed as Hunk wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him. “Just let me see him, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“If he goes, we want to go with him.” Hunk said, refusing to back down, but Kolivan just shook his head.

“No, this can be a delicate process, we don’t need organics to complicate things. You will stay here, we will take Shiro to see your friend.”

Pidge and Hunk protested loudly, but Shiro just wrapped his arms around them both and gave them a hug. “It’s going to be okay. We came here to get their help, right? We have to trust them if they’re going to trust us.”

He offered them both a smile, even if it didn’t reach his eyes. Everything in him screamed that this was a lie, that Kolivan and his people were enemies. Their thoughts pressed against his mind and even if they didn’t force their control. They were Galra, the elites that destroyed his people and took everything from him. Even if they weren’t the ones who led the attack, they hid themselves away here and let their kind destroy the galaxy. But they could maybe save Keith, and Keith…he was one of them.

He had to keep breathing.

“You have to find Lance, remember? I’ll be fine.”

It wasn’t fair that Shiro knew that would work, and it wasn’t fair that he’d use it against Hunk, but there wasn’t much place left for fairness in this battle. Hunk still looked like he wanted to protest, even if they both knew that Shiro had already won.

“Be careful,” Hunk said instead. “Don’t stick around if they want to stick weird things in you.”

He still winced when Pidge elbowed him in the side, his expression souring but only briefly. The Quvari rounded on Shiro, looking him over with a critical eye that refused to be subdued. “Back out if things get too weird. They shouldn’t get to push you around.”

Shiro smiled, because their hearts were in the right place, but they all knew he was going to come back with Keith by his side, or not at all. He sent one last, distasteful glance at their gilded cage, but his knees buckled, and strength of will was best tested on fights worth winning. Shiro the Galra lead him away.

Pidge and Hunk watched as he was taken, exchanging glances that said all they weren’t comfortable with sharing with the enemy, before Hunk exhaled deeply and approached Kolivan. He stopped him before he could leave the room.

“We want access to your base,” he said, drawing on a lifetime of training as a Lord of the Fourth Division. “We want both our friends back.”

For the first time, the Galra seemed concerned. Kolivan shot him a peculiar look. “As you say. We have not withheld your companion.”

“Well, you haven’t let us see him! If you’re not holding him, then where is he?” Hunk fairly bristled and Kolivan closed his eyes. Organics were so emotional and exhausting, humans worse than most.

“Your robotic friend was badly damaged, we were able to repair him-” He tried to say, but Hunk squawked in outrage.

“You modified Lance? He’s delicate, I’ve built every system he has! Most of it is my own design, you won’t know how it fits together. You could break him, I need to see him,  _now_.” Hunk demanded and Kolivan finally nodded, finding it easier to just give the pushy organic what he wanted so he’d stop talking.

“Fine. I will send someone to bring him to you.”

“And access to your base! We’re not prisoners, are we?” Pidge pipped up and Kolivan sighed.

“With an escort, you will have access to the less secure areas of our base. I would ask that you don’t upload any virus into our system to kill us all.” He said dryly, and Pidge flushed blue. He gestured for Antok to remain with the pair as their guide and retreated back into the stone hallways to follow Shiro to their medical bay. Pidge and Hunk watched him go before gathering themselves up and staring up (and up!) at Antok’s mask.

“Well, let’s go see our friend!” Hunk paused for a second before adding, “Please?”

The corners of Antok’s mouth turned down, the most expressive they’d ever seen him. “Follow me,” he said, in a way that Hunk decided was resigned. He told himself not to forget it. When he told Lance about it, his friend would have something cutting to say.

He caught Pidge looking down the corridor that Shiro had disappeared through, and quietly stealed himself. Everything was going to be fine.

Hunk rested his hand on Pidge’s shoulder, and she nodded. They were lead through the temple, where they soon realized that they would’ve learned more by staying in one place. It was like a maze, and for the first time, Hunk understood what off-worlders meant when they said the Balmera was confusing. The stone was different, and it felt like every hallway was designed to look identical, all dimly lit and vaguely ominous. Pidge was furrowing her brows the same way she did when a particularly complicated problem crossed her work bench.

Eventually they came to a stop in front of an entrance. Hunk tensed up, preparing for the worst, already imagining Lance in the worst sort of states, in a pretzel of wires and spare parts, or worse. Quiet. Subdued and obedient.

When the door opened, the room behind it was empty.

“Wait here,” Antok said. He already sounded tired.

Pidge and Hunk waited for as long as it took the door to slide close before tearing the room apart. They moved as quickly as possible, searching all strategic locations for spyware. Pidge was a little concerned and a lot impressed by how quickly Hunk caught on. Apparently, the Balmerans weren’t completely terrible at listening to logic. She snorted to herself, and Hunk looked over.

“Found something?”

“No, never mind.”

The door opened with a whoosh, with Hunk’s arm shoved in a vent, and Pidge trying to climb to the light fixtures. They froze. But no Galra stepped in.

A young human man entered, holding out a plate of snacks. He held it out to the pair with a flourish. “Heeey, you guys, can I interest you in something to eat? What you doing?”

They jumped up, eager to pretend the last five seconds hadn’t happened. Pidge’s stomach growled loudly and she picked over the plate of unfamiliar food. Even though Hunk was hungry himself, he just huffed and watched the door impatiently. “No, I’m waiting for someone.”

“Oh?” The human sounded almost bored. “But I would have thought you’d want something to eat.”

“You thought wrong.” Hunk snapped, but Pidge squinted at the young man.

“Why is there a human living out with the Blades of Marmora? I thought this was a super secret Galra exiles club or something.” She asked suspiciously.

The human just grinned, sharp and wicked as he leaned into their space so intrusively that Pidge leaned back. “Let’s just say I’m a recent visitor. I’ve only been here…oh, how long have you been here again?” He wagged his eyebrows enthusiastically and Hunk’s eyes widened in shocked recognition.

“L-Lance?!”

“They look better as the real thing, right?” Lance ran his finger along one of his eyebrows and then gave Hunk a finger gun and a wink. If Hunk didn’t recognize the same swagger, the same way he held himself, he would never have known that his robot friend was  _human_. He looked real in every way, down to the warmth in his brown skin and the gleam in his eye and the soft curve of his lip. With a shriek, Hunk tackled his friend, sending the snack tray crashing to the ground.

Pidge sighed at its demise before the mystery of Lance’s transformation pulled her in too.

“How is this possible?” She asked, pinching Lance’s arm hard enough to make him yelp. “This actually feels organic!”

“It is!” Lance crowed. “My chassis was so badly damaged that those Galra dudes couldn’t repair everything. I think it’s a testament to Hunk’s engineering skills.” He bragged, gently lifting Hunk’s jaw off the ground. “The only thing they had were spare drone bodies. The programming in this one was completely gone, it wasn’t like I was taking it from anyone, so they uploaded my files into it. Don’t you think it’s awesome?”

He hesitated a little bit, vulnerability a new expression for his face, as he looked at Hunk. “I know I don’t have a toaster anymore, but I thought if I still brought you snacks…”

“Oh Lance.” Hunk whispered, burying his face in Lance’s new shoulder. It was soft and warm, the difference from the last time they’d been this close on display for the world to see. “You were the best part of that toaster.”

Lance sagged against him, sighing all the way to his toes. He had toes now, real toes that wiggled and squirmed and looked really weird at the end of his foot. But most importantly he had Hunk, and he could feel him against every inch of skin he touched. Lance had never felt so much hope.

 

* * *

 

Shiro didn’t want to see this. There was something about the room, something about the entire temple that made his head throb. Like the lights they used that left him, not sleepy, but sluggish, and Shiro hated how little he could trust on his own feet almost as much as he hated needing to admit it. He’d been fighting against unfair odds for longer than he cared to count, but this time Shiro might’ve been over his head.

In the center of the room was Keith, blood splattered clothes cut free and replaced by a surgical gown. He was strapped to a long metal table beneath a bright amber light, brighter than anything else in the room. His chest cavity had been cracked open, but as Shiro watched, the technician standing beside Keith was sewing him shut, hiding away most of the mess of metal and wires that Shiro thought he’d known of sooner. Or maybe he wished he’d never learned.

What they’d had had all been a lie, but a gentle one.

If he could go back to the way it was and pretend that he never knew, he would in a heartbeat. It didn’t matter if Keith was Galra as long as he would still be there. In death, betrayal was a forgivable crime. The technicians were quick and efficient, patching together metal and flesh like any healer did, but Keith didn’t respond. He was motionless, if Shiro didn’t look hard he could almost convince himself that Keith was just sleeping. The technicians presented a data pad to Kolivan before quietly slipping out and Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. The fewer elites pressed against his skull, the better.

Kolivan didn’t offer any guidance, just stood near the doorway frowning at the datapad as Shiro moved closer to the bed. He reached out carefully, brushing the soft hair back from Keith’s pale face and felt that building grief beneath his ribs.  

This wasn’t fair.

He caught a ragged breath, trying desperately to keep himself together as he knelt and pressed his forehead to Keith’s. “Please come back.”

 

* * *

 

The world exploded and he laughed as it fell apart. This was victory!

A harsh voice admonished him, flaying him to the bone. Forcing him to face the truth in snapping words in a foreign tongue that he didn’t want to hear.

Nothing, nothing, nothing. The emptiness wrapped around him and pulled him down as he embraced it. Wanted it. It was time to let go.

Gentle hands pressed him down, a kiss turned into a sweet gasp and he surrendered to the touch eagerly.

It was hot, brutally hot like the vacuum of space had no right to be. The air pressed against him like a second skin, painting on layer after layer until he was floating in it. Keith didn’t breathe, didn’t need to, but it filled his lungs, spreading him open and taking him apart from the inside out.

The lights were honey gold, and when he looked up, he thought there was a flash of rose-tinted glass. Unfamiliar alien plants rose from the ground, no, from all around him, walls in their own right, but they weren’t unfamiliar. This was home. This was home this was home this was home.

“Keith.”

He was home.

Careful hands smoothed the lines from his brow, each touch as delicate as a butterfly’s kiss. The man was beautiful, strong-jawed and bright-eyed, teeth and claws razor-sharp but heart gentle. No he was a robot, a demon built of circuitry and wires, every movement as economic and as brutal as a dagger’s thrust. He fit against him like he’d been made for him. Keith’s missing piece.

Please remember Koryusai.

Their foreheads touched, and it was like a dam had broken, flooding him with too many thoughts, too many feelings and Keith could laugh and cry at the same time, needed to or he would break and by the Light, he would fight for him kill for him he would save him.

“Keith come back.”

“ _I’m sorry.”_

“Then do something about it.” Shiro’s lips moved, but it wasn’t his voice and the words scored Keith raw. Do something. He had to do something.

“ _I didn’t mean for this to happen_.”

“Yes you did.” The voice refused to offer any sort of absolution, dashing his confession into meaningless words. “You knew and you didn’t care. Stop apologizing and fix it.”

“ _I can’t!_ ”

“Keith?” Flowers erupted from Shiro’s face, blood red and glowing with veins of violet. He tried to jerk himself away, but he was trapped, machinery twisted together and fused. The flowers pulsed brighter and brighter, drowning out the yellow of Shiro’s eyes, before they scuttled away like spiders leaving a metal husk behind. Keith screamed, tearing at his own body to get free.

The spiders pulled together into a twisting, changing mass that almost resembled something living. “That’s cold, dude.” Lance’s voice came from what might have been its face. Pidge knelt beside the writhing mass and smiled as wires and cables snapped out like tentacles, wrapping around her tightly and pulling her inside to be consumed.

A bright light shone from “Lance’s” chest and the monster looked down at himself, confused as it grew in intensity before he was blown into pieces. Hunk hefted a massive gun and held out his hand as Keith desperately scrambled to grab it. But his eyes glowed the same bright yellow and his mouth was full of fangs. “You are a disappointment.”

“Keith!” Shiro’s voice came from everywhere and nowhere, vibrating from the very air.

_“I TRIED!”_

“Coward.”

He looked up into Shiro’s smile, touching it to see if it was real. His fingertips left corruption and infection in their wake, but Shiro never pulled away. “What do I do?” Keith whispered.

“Come home.”

“I’m hurting you.” Keith cried out, but Shiro never ran when he was supposed to. Strong arms wrapped around him, drawing him in. Keith never ran when he was supposed to either.

It felt like he was falling, sinking through through the air, the world rushing past him in a vortex of color and sound but Shiro was grounding him. He held on until the very end.

Keith woke to purple lights and strange masked men watching over him, and everything snapped into place with electric clarity.  _Galra_. He pushed off the table in one swift motion, kicking the closest one in the chest to propel him off the ledge. Sharp pricks of pain burst where probes were tugged free from his skin. It did nothing to slow him down, he worked at peak operating performance like he always had. Off a nearby table Keith grabbed the closest tool he could find, a one-sided scalpel before throwing the entire stand at his startled enemies. How long had they had him? Where were the others?

A figure with a shock of white hair rested on the table across from him. Shiro! They had Shiro!

Keith snarled, launching himself at the closest guard and taking him down with terrifying speed. He grabbed his blaster out of the Galra’s holster, leveled it at the room, prepared to destroy everything in the lab when a soft, tired voice caught him.

“Keith, stop…”

Shiro was pushing himself to his feet, more tired and withdrawn than Keith had ever seen him. He would make them pay for what they did. He’d make sure every single on of them suffered. Then for the first time he looked down, an unintentional gesture, just checking his footing, making sure there wasn’t anything he’d missed. That was when he saw it. His left arm, carved open, a panel pushed back to expose a tangle of wires and cruel metal.

“W-what?! What did they do to me?”

“Keith, it’s okay.” Shiro’s voice was ragged and when he reached out for him, Keith pulled him in tightly, keeping the blaster pointed at the Galra. “They helped heal you, it’s going to be okay.”

The blaster shook in Keith’s hand, anger and fear seizing the muscles tight, but Shiro gently and insistently pushed his arm down. With a choked sound, he finally surrendered the gun, clinging on to Shiro like he was the only solid thing in existence. The world felt dangerously unsteady and his head spun, his stomach twisting and sick. “What’s happening?” He gasped against Shiro’s chest.

“You were hurt.” Shiro’s voice was thick with emotion, tracing his hands along Keith’s warm back with a reverence. When Keith blinked wide, panicked eyes at him, he could see his best friend was crying. “I thought I lost you. I-I, I thought I’d never see you again. Oh Light, you don’t-, you’re really alive!”

Keith felt alive, but the metal in his arm flexed as he moved and sent another wave of nausea through him. “I’m  _infected?_ ”

“You’re not infected.” Kolivan stepped into the conversation and Keith bared his teeth at the stranger, arms tightening protectively around Shiro. “You were already a Galra.”

“I’m human!” He snarled, but Kolivan shook his head.

“You’re an elite, one of the true Galra like we are. I don’t know why your programming was damaged or your memories erased, but we found extensive damage as we were helping you heal.” He gestured at Shiro. “And your friend was the one who led you back. We’re the Blades of Marmora, we’re not here to hurt you.”

Keith looked helplessly at Shiro who murmured into his hair, pressing a kiss to the side of Keith’s head. “They’re rebels.” He explained softly. “They’re not like the other Galra, we came to them for help when you were injured.”

“B-but, I’m not purple?” It was a stupid blurted fact, but all his reeling mind could come up with. This wasn’t true, this couldn’t be true. He was human, there was nothing damaged about his memories! Doubt whispered in the back of his thoughts, the first shadowy flickers of confusion. He remembered the ship before the WSP, but…but how had he gotten on it? Where was it coming from? No, this was stupid. He was human!

Kolivan almost smiled. “Your memory must have been more damaged then we know. Our people can change our organic shape. Long ago, we used to use our abilities to infiltrate other species so we could study from them, figure out the most useful parts of their genetic code, and learn how to mimic their advances in ourselves. Eventually, we began integrating their technological advances into our evolution as well.” The Blade sighed, smile vanishing as quickly as it had come and replaced with an almost sorrow. “Some of our kind was not patient enough to learn and adapt, they began forcibly merging unwilling beings into our collective as mindless drones, taking the best traits with violence. I don’t know why you chose that shape, but it must have meant something to you.”

“Don’t come any closer!” Keith snapped, and it didn’t matter whether or not Kolivan had tried. Everything was happening too quickly, and Keith didn’t know how to stop what felt like a free fall. There were wires sticking out of Shiro’s nape. Keith’s stomach sunk to his knees as he gently unfastened them. Shiro shuddered against him, a soft noise catching in his throat, but there was no resistance. It took Keith a second longer to understand what he was looking at.

Ports. Lodged in a sickening mess of flesh and metal. Keith didn’t know if the infection had spread, or if the Blades had exacerbated it. “Can you move?” Keith asked softly, like he thought he could break Shiro if he pushed hard enough, and he was sorry, he was so sorry. “I’ll get you out of here, I promise.”

“You aren’t going anywhere.” Kolivan hadn’t moved from his position, but there was a finality in his tone that brought him closer. Keith recoiled, preparing for an attack, his hand going to his stolen blaster. This time not even Shiro could stop him.

“You can’t tell us what to do.”

Even staring down the end of a blaster, Kolivan was unimpressed. Around him, his Blades had gathered, silent but alert, an army against Keith, Shiro, and a stolen gun. Shiro looked towards Keith, his hands smoothing down the wrinkles in his shirt, brow furrowed unhappily. Keith wanted to give in. He wanted everything to stop, but there was a glimmer of gold in both of Shiro’s eyes now, and Kolivan wasn’t done.

“Your coding is flawed. You remain an active threat. You’ve brought something to us in your programming that endangers us all.” The Galra stared him down, impassive and foreboding, mouth turned down. “What is Project Zero?”

 

* * *

 

  _–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission—_

_[Begin Playback]_

The recording flickered on and Shiro sat heavily in front of the camera. He looked pale, his face mottled with dark bruises and his hairline stained with blood. The frantic, hopeful zealotry had faded from his eyes and he looked shell-shocked and empty.

“The Paladin’s gone.”

Those three words, and everything had changed. Even if he’d been alone, even if he had nothing left, the Resistance had given Shiro a purpose. He believed they had a chance, now, even that small hope had been dashed. He looked at the camera, haunted.

“We think the Paladin’s been  _taken_ , but without them-” He shook his head. “The Quvari general says he’ll take over, but Matt isn’t the same. He’s extreme, he’s…I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

He put his head in his hands, shoulders slumped in exhaustion. “We’ve lost. They just don’t want to admit it yet.”

_[End Playback]_


	15. Chapter 15

“What do you know about Project Zero?”

“What?”

“How did you find it?”

“I- I don’t know.”

“Why did you bring it here?”

“I didn’t! I didn’t mean to?”

“Was this your plan all along?”

_“No!”_

The Blades would’ve interrogated him longer, but Shiro stepped in, with all the force he could muster, standing at Keith’s defense when he could barely bring himself to stand. “That’s enough. You said it yourself his programming was damaged. What else are you expecting?”

It was enough to win Keith some space, driving the Galra away from him even if their eyes lingered, but in the uncomfortable walk back to Shiro’s room with the promise of surveillance hanging over his head, Keith found no peace.

_What am I?_

The question drowned out everything else, knocking around and around his skull. He vaguely heard the Blades speaking as they left, something about Project Zero and damaged memories and the war, but the words jumbled together until they didn’t make sense. They were Galra, the enemy! And he was…oh sweet Light, what was he?

Panic stole his breath and his heartbeat filled his ears, sick bile burning the back of his throat. He swore he could feel the machine parts of him beneath his skin, crawling cold metal like an infection. He didn’t notice that Shiro had finally stopped in front of an open door. There was only the endless screaming horror inside of his own head.

A gentle touch against his arm brought him back with a yelp and he jerked back, eyes wild. “How?” His voice broke. “How can you even touch me?”

“Because I know you.” Shiro’s voice was calm and soothing, even if he held himself with restrained tension. The answer startled a harsh laugh past Keith’s snarl.

“How could you when I don’t even know what I am!?”

Shiro recoiled, startled by the words that echoed through his own mind, and it chilled Keith to the bone. He wanted to apologize. There had to be some way to make this right, but he didn’t even know where to start, and Shiro had already turned to face him.

“Then tell me! Were you a spy trying to use me to get to the Resistance? Was all of this some kind of elaborate plan to infiltrate and destroy us from the inside? What was real?” Pain wove its way through Shiro’s words, each one a dart that found its mark. Especially when Keith didn’t think he knew the truth.

Shiro’s shoulders were trembling. It was the first time Keith had managed a good look at him, noting all the little changes that came together to paint a painful picture. And Keith realized that for the first time, he could hear him too, from the metallic drag of his lungs to the beat of his heart, as dependable as a beating clock. Keith heard it skip as Shiro took a step forward, still giving him a chance to explain after everything Keith had put him through.

“Please.”

Maybe this was why they were allowed to go. The interrogators of the Blade of Marmora, with their thinly veiled threats and barely restrained fury, were nothing when Shiro asked like that. Keith wondered if thinking like that proved he was the monster they all believed he was.

“I’m human.” Keith said softly. “It was all real to me. That’s all I know.”

Shiro watched him like he was waiting for something more, something else. Then he sighed, shaking his head as if he could escape his own thoughts. “I don’t think I ever stopped believing in you.”

Keith wished he didn’t sound so defeated. Shiro walked past him and into his room. The lights activated when he stepped through, but they were mercifully alone.

“I’m human!” Keith stopped in the doorway, unable to make himself cross that barrier into Shiro’s space. “I _am_ , I-I have to be.” The alternative was too terrifying to accept.

“And Project Zero? We’ve chased information on it from one side of the galaxy to the other, and you had it in you the whole time. Were you going use it to infect everyone?”

“No!!” Keith’s hands curled into the doorframe, fear sliding into anger. “I was never going to hurt anyone, I’m not a Galra. I’m not like them. I don’t know what that programming is or what they say I have, but I was never going to do that. Why don’t you believe me?”

“ _Because I lost you!_ ” Shiro whirled on him, fangs bared and his ears flattened against his skull. He grabbed Keith’s shoulders, the tips of his claws digging deep into his skin as he snarled out his anguish. “You died in my arms, Keith, and a part of me died with you! I let you come on this mission, it was my fault, and I lov-…” He stopped, stricken, rage gone as suddenly as it had appeared. Exhaustion took its place, the heavy unyielding weight that Shiro carried on his back for so long, shoulders hunched with grief.

“I lost you.” The words were softer now. “And I don’t know if you’ve come back to me.”

Shiro made to break away, but Keith wouldn’t let him. Keith never should have asked him to go, never should have pushed this far. Shiro could’ve had his garden, a quiet patch of land to live out the rest of his days, and Keith could’ve had peace. For one, bitter moment, he grieved for his ignorance more than he grieved for his identity. Then he pulled Shiro in.

Shiro tensed at first in his arms. The first touch between them left him breathless, with Keith reaching up to press their foreheads together. Keith felt him retreat, his breath hitched and wet with emotion.

Then Shiro moved in, wrapping himself around him like he was afraid Keith would disappear all over again. It felt like Keith had found a part of himself he didn’t know was missing, relearning to be whole after being fragmented for so long. Shiro was warm and steady, everything he could’ve ever wanted, and yet Keith knew there was more. There was something deeper between them, something that glowed with the light of dying coals but could flare up at any moment. Now that he knew where to look, Keith couldn’t ignore it. If he just reached out, stoking the flames would be so easy. But Keith didn’t know if he’d be able to stop them.

“I don’t want to feel like this,” Shiro whispered. “I didn’t- please don’t go.”

Keith sighed, giving into relief as Shiro touched him, again and again and again. “I didn’t mean to. I never wanted to.”

He didn’t have the words to explain how he felt when desperation and fear and so much grief twisted with the mercy of coming back to Shiro’s arms. He wanted to explained. He wanted his innocence proven. He wanted to hide in a beautiful lie. He wanted the _truth._ He wanted to give Shiro everything he had, the universe and more. So he reached out, with no certainty that anyone would catch him but not at all afraid, because it was Shiro it was always Shiro.

Keith gasped.

It was like trying to outrun a tsunami. He never had a chance. He was dragged under, engulfed and overwhelmed before he finished inhaling. Sensation crackled across his skin, sparking everywhere they touched. Fear and want and loathing and guilt, so much guilt, but so much love, running so deep and so vibrantly that the words he knew could not describe them. They died on his tongue before he could try to find them, but he didn’t need them, not like this, not when Shiro could suddenly see everything inside of him.

“Keith-”

Shiro’s voice was almost too loud, reverberating through his bones as a flare of heat rose in a crescendo. Shock and disbelief, _anger_ and longing, overlapping then drowned by love love love. Shiro touched him, and Keith shuddered because Shiro was…

Shiro ran his fingertips along the soft dark ears that poked out of Keith’s hair, arched upright like any young Koryu. The inside of Keith’s mouth and cheeks had shifted, bone structure remodeling to form a new jaw to fit his fangs. Shiro smelled so good. Had Shiro always smelled so good? How had he never noticed? Shiro was crying, breath coming in faint hitches, and when Keith cradled his face in his hands, he realized the ends of his fingers ended in claws.

Dread felt like ice through his veins.

“I’m-” not human not right not real. Shapeshifter. _Galra._

_No!_

He felt Shiro, felt his denial and his regret, felt his gratitude so sincerely it made Keith’s knees buckle. Shiro shared it with him freely, shared his now and promise his past and his future if Keith just asked, and Keith never wanted to let him go.

“What’s happening?” Keith asked out loud.

Shiro answered him with thoughts, filling him with unspoken reassurance and awe. Keith reached for his partner, drowning in his own emotions, each as sharp as knife points. He screamed in a language he didn’t understand, breaking over each delicate and alien word. No, words weren’t right. He didn’t even know what to call this.

Keith sagged against Shiro who let him scream until both their minds were ringing. Below the grief and frustration and confusion, through it, tying it together with an unbroken thread was the love that left them both breathless. Shiro let the pain wash over him and guided Keith home with whispered thoughts.

_I don’t know, but we’re okay._

It was a feeling, a sense of well-being more than actual words, but Keith understood implicitly. He leaned up to capture Shiro’s mouth, carelessly catching his lip against the new fangs in his eagerness to touch. They were linked in a way that Keith couldn’t understand, a ‘we’ that was more powerful than any stupid separation of space between two hearts. A flash of pain and joy cut through him, so bright that Keith cried out.

 _Bonded_.

Keith blinked his eyes open to look up into Shiro’s, the faint gold infection lighting up the dark. “What’s bonded?” He asked, his tongue clumsy as he switched to spoken words to better understand.

“Something impossible. But impossible doesn’t seem to mean much to you.” Shiro teased, resting their foreheads together. “You’re like me.”

“But I’m-” He couldn’t say the word Galra, even if it was the truth. Speaking it out loud would somehow make it all feel that much more real.

_Not alone anymore._

_“_ It’s good to have you back, Keith.”

“I-it’s good to be back.”

Keith leaned in again, his forehead just touching Shiro’s, the very tips of their noses bumping so that Keith had to smile. He brushed the tear tracks from Shiro’s face, and Shiro’s eyes went soft as he let his mate take care of him. Keith wanted to ask when he last rested, but he’d barely thought the question before the answer came back. Not lately, and not enough, not when it didn’t feel safe and nearly impossible when Shiro’s heart felt so heavy. There was a promise delivered through skin and touch, that they would rest together, now for a little while but eventually when there was peace.

Keith didn’t know who said it first, but they both wanted it so dearly that was all that mattered.

Then in the distance there was the tap of footsteps, and Keith looked up sharply, expecting the door to be thrown open at any moment. Beside him Shiro snickered, and delight spread across Keith’s chest, so warm and so bright it almost floored him.

 _Silly little ears._ Shiro teased wordlessly, and Keith couldn’t even be mad, because when the door opened, Pidge and Hunk nearly fell over at the sight of him. Pidge and Hunk and a strange human.

Keith’s ears flattened instinctively and he hissed, keeping a protective arm around Shiro’s waist. It was so weird and so unexpected that Shiro burst out laughing, and that shook their team out of whatever slump they’d fallen into.

“Is that…?”

“Keith!”

“Wow, wow, wow.” The new human announced. “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

They approached but nervously. It felt like instinct to reach out. Keith touched Pidge’s hand. It was little more than the ghost of a touch, but he was immediately aware of the absence between them, like hearing silence even with a transmission’s volume up full. Pidge didn’t notice their contact, but she noticed the wide-eyed stare Keith gave her.

Hunk didn’t bother hesitating. He threw himself at his friends, grabbing all four of them in a bone crushing group hug and squeezing them until Pidge yelped, smushed face first into his belly. “Oh man, we were so worried about you guys! I saw you totally die, dude, it was _awful_. I can’t believe they brought you back, I’m so happy!” The words bubbled up out of Hunk with such honest energy that Keith didn’t need to feel his emotions to laugh. These were his friends, a family he never thought he’d find.

“Hunk, I can’t breathe!” Keith finally managed to wiggle free, his ears twitching as the strange human stared at them intently.

“Is that some kind of upgrade? I didn’t get Shiro ears! Why didn’t I get Shiro ears?”

“…Lance?!”

Lance pointed a finger gun at Keith and gave him his best smile, and Keith almost swore his teeth sparkled. “In the flesh, literally! What, you thought you were the only one getting a snazzy new Galra makeover? Look at this, genuine organic bits.” He pulled his shirt up to show off as Hunk laughed and Shiro rolled his eyes.

“Put those guns away before someone gets hurt, Lance.” Shiro teased as Lance beamed under the compliment.

“Are the ears mechanical or-, they’re organic?” Pidge was fascinated, reaching up to gently flick one before grabbing Keith’s face between her hands, pulling his cheeks to look at his new fangs. “This is so cool! Is this a Galra thing?”

They weren’t even afraid of him. This strange, silly group of accidental rebels weren’t afraid he was one of the enemy. They only saw him as their friend, part of the team, and were glad to have him back. No one in his whole life had ever cared. Shiro pressed close beside him and the casual touch sent waves of pride and contentment rippling through him in their own secret language.

“Well. Shapeshifting, I guess.” Keith said, feeling a moment of regret at the loss of his human form. Now there was no hiding what he was, but he remembered what it had been like, those last few seconds before the transformation took, his hopes and wants and grief and how it all spilled over in the best ways. His hand brushed against Shiro’s arm, and Shiro inhaled sharply, a contentedly sleepy smile crossing his features as his ears flopped against his head.

Pidge awww’d,  but Hunk looked them over with a critical eye. “Wait what did I miss.”

“Psychic link.” Shiro explained away, milliseconds before Hunk could guess and he pouted, before nodding.

“That explains the ship,” he said. “I was guessing some kind of DNA lock, but yeah.”

“Hold on. Shapeshifting!” Lance demanded, snapping his fingers. “Lemme do, Balmera!”

“Dude, we don’t have room in here for a planet-stone. Oh. OH! You meant Shay-like.” Hunk gasped and turned to his best friend, eager to see the infiltration strategy-cum-party trick. Keith just shrugged, leaning into Shiro’s space to watch as Lance screwed his face up until it was giant wrinkle and then…

Nothing happened.

“What’s wrong?” Lance frowned.

“Maybe you just suck at this?” Pidge offered helpfully.

“Kinda glad though, it would’ve been weird if you were taller than me.” Hunk said.

“Oh.” They all turned to Shiro, but he seemed to have forgotten how to speak. A wave of unhappy regret and the quiet success of realization echoed through Keith’s skin, and he understood. It had been so long, that Shiro needed a moment to recollect himself, detangling from one conversation to ready himself for another one. “You might not have the programming. Balmera still stands.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the void. Old knowledge taking the place of excitement. The Galra needed subjects to perfect their shapeshifting. They’d needed an entire planet full of subjects.

“Then do Quvari.” Pidge demanded, voice a little too gruff, but her smile was set and her head held high. “Come on, Lance. I wanna out-blue you.”

“Or Antalian.” Hunk added, a little more gently than he’d meant, and he combed his fingers through Lance’s short hair. “They’re the prettiest people in the galaxy. It’s kinda fitting, right dude?”

“And you both made really good humans.” Shiro promised, squeezing Lance’s shoulder, and Lance beamed up at him.

“C’mon dude, what’s the secret? I wanna go blue!” Lance struck a pose. “I think that color would look good on me.”

“I don’t know how, I promise.” Keith said seriously. “I’m not really sure how any of this works.”

“And I don’t think you could anyways, Lance.” Shiro offered him an apologetic smile. “Your body is a drone, like mine, not an elite. But don’t worry, there’s lots that we can still do.”

Lance startled for a moment at the compliment, looking at Shiro with wide eyes like he’d never realized that he could be the same as the Captain. For a moment, that blustering ego and pride was set aside and he looked almost vulnerable, genuinely pleased. “Yeah, I-, yeah. We’re still pretty cool, Shiro.”

“I’d say! C’mon guys, now that everyone’s not dead and has an actual functioning stomach, let’s go get something to eat.” Hunk threw his arm around Lance and knocked his best friend off balance. “I can’t wait to get somewhere I can actually cook for you, we’re gonna have so much fun trying to find your favorite food. I’ll make you everything!”

“Go on.” Shiro gave Keith a gentle push and a lingering flicker of tired happiness. “I think I’m going to rest for a while.”

Keith was reluctant, but Hunk was already dragging him off and he finally gave up and let himself be swept up into his friends’ enthusiasm. He would come back to Shiro soon and he knew his best friend would be waiting, even if he was already missing the scent of Shiro on his skin.

With a sigh and a smile, Shiro let himself settle into a couch and slowly unknot his aching muscle. He didn’t notice that Pidge had lingered in the doorway until the young Quvari shuffled her feet. “Hey Pidge, is everything okay?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Pidge said, like she was trying to convince herself, but she’d stayed behind for a reason. It just took her a little longer to be ready to deal with it. “Can I just ask you about something?”

“You already did.” Shiro smiled as Pidge glowered, but she couldn’t even get any heat behind it. Pidge flopped down beside him like she was going for a swim. She was a war-hardened soldier and the oldest out of all of them, her position in Quvari culture notwithstanding, but drowning in cushions that were so clearly Galra-sized, she looked like just another kid who’d seen too much.

Shiro scooted next to her, leaving a sliver of space between them. She didn’t lean across it, but when she put her hand down, their pinkies touched. It seemed like enough.

“Do you think they’re right?” She asked, tone deceptively disinterested, and Shiro had no idea what she was talking about. He let out a little noise in the back of his throat. That was all the prompting she needed. “I mean, about the virus. That’s why they stopped helping my parents. Because it would’ve killed all of them.”

“It’s… possible, Pidge.” Shiro started, preparing to maneuver himself around the conversation, but she wasn’t finished.

“It makes sense. They didn’t want it to end like that, and my parents were- they must’ve been okay with it. And now they’re gone. It’s, it’s kind of ironic if you think about it.” She continued in that brave, dispassionate tone, but she could only speak to their hands, staring down at the place they touched.

“Do you think Matt knew?”

Shiro chose his words carefully. “I’m not sure, he never talked to me about his family’s research. But ending this war is important. We’re all willing to make whatever sacrifices we need to if it means we can stop them.”

“Even wipe them all out? That’s what Matt wanted to do at Melemauna, doesn’t that make us just the same as them? I’ve seen what people can do if they convince themselves it’s the right thing, I never wanted to be like that.” Her voice grew softer. “I never wanted to think my family was like that either. I thought I could save everyone if I just figured out what my parents were working on, but maybe Matt was right. This whole thing was a mistake.”

“It’s hard to know what the right thing is sometimes. I know what I’m willing to give up if it means I can protect the rest of you.”

Pidge stared at Shiro in shock for a moment before his meaning finally hit home. “ _Oh Light, it would kill you too!_ ” She whispered. “That’s what you were talking about. I didn’t even think-, you and Keith and Lance too. If I finished the virus, it would kill all of you.”

“It’s okay-”

“How is it okay?!” She almost bolted back up out of her seat. “Dying like that isn’t okay! You can’t just give up and tell me it’ll be okay. You’re the Champion, you never give up.” Pidge balled her hands into fists, eyes welling with tears. “I’ve lost my family already, Shiro. I’m not going to lose this one too.”

Shiro wrapped an arm around her and pulled Pidge close into a hug.  “I’m right here and we’re going to get through this somehow, I promise. You’ll find a way and we’re gonna help.”

“I didn’t think- I just…” She buried her face in his chest, carefully stifling a sob. It was different, when she thought about the enemy as Other, as Untouchable. They were a concept to tear down and destroy. The Galra had showed Pidge how much she had worth losing, then they’d taken it all away. First her culture, then her parents, and her best friend. They’d all been family to her, in every way that mattered. They had to be stopped.

She just didn’t know how anymore.

Shiro held her close and kissed her brow, the way his mothers used to when he was sad, the way they told him Ryou used to when Shiro was too small to remember. All he knew was that his life was worth the end of the war, but he didn’t know who he would be, if he made Pidge carry that burden. They would find another way. When they didn’t have a choice, they found a way to make one.

“It’s not over yet.”

They stayed like that for a long time, until Pidge fell silent and Shiro grew tired. This time, when they rested, they found some measure of hope.

 

* * *

 

By the time Keith filled a plate and returned back to Shiro, Hunk was feeling full and happy. Genuinely, completely happy in a way he hadn’t since their lives had upended when they’d been accidentally exiled from Balmera Prime. For the first time, he felt like he belonged here as one of the team. He wasn’t just someone tagging along, he was a warrior who had a real impact on their ability to stop this entire war and save everyone he loved.

A hero.

It made him feel warm down to his toes. That, and the brightness of Lance’s new smile. His best friend was still eating, layering food in different order before shoving it in his mouth to test each new creation. Lance was real, like he had stepped right out of Hunk’s imagination and into the flesh. After so many years of working and engineering, Lance had come to life.

“Hey buddy, you have to try this!” Lance beamed around some horrible stack of different colored jiggly things.

“That’s all you, dude.” Hunk laughed, scooching closer so he could lean against the other man and feel the new warmth from his skin. “You still doing okay adjusting to your new systems? At some point I want to take a look and make sure that everything is top quality for you.”

There was something a little disquieting about it all, but the discomfort hid in the dark recesses of Hunk’s mind. This was what it would feel like to sit next to a Galra infiltrator. It could have been terrifying, but Lance’s excitement was infectious, and Hunk knew with unflinching certainty that his best friend was still the same where it counted.

“Bro, of course I’m top quality. What else would you call this?” Lance asked, flexing his arms to prove a point. There was a smear of food goop dripping down his chin, and he didn’t even notice, megawatt smile at full blast. Hunk’s heart did something, like he’d swallowed down the wrong tube and was going to choke, and he looked away, hastily grabbing a napkin.

“A top quality butt.” He grumbled, before dabbing at Lance’s chin, trying to clean up the mess. Lance hesitated for a moment, then leaned in closer, demanding the attention, and Hunk laughed, wrapping an arm around his middle to stabilize him.

“You don’t have to look after me so much anymore, y’know?” Lance said, after a beat, softer and kinder than Hunk had heard. No, that wasn’t right. Lance had been soft and kind before, when it mattered the most, but now he had the right voice modulators to make it count. Hunk hadn’t helped at all with those, of course Lance wouldn’t want his help now. It felt like a punch to the gut, but Lance just moved closer, taking Hunk’s hand in his. “Now I can take care of you, too.”

“I can take care of myself too! I’m not afraid.” The words were out of his mouth before Hunk realized they were right, he wasn’t afraid anymore. Okay, maybe he was kind of afraid all of the time, but he wasn’t too afraid to try and that made all the difference. “How about we take care of each other?”

“I like that.” It was a promise and Lance was going to keep it. His chest did something weird like it hurt but didn’t really hurt. Lance rubbed his hand against his ribs thoughtfully, trying to figure out what it meant. The mechanical components of his new body were familiar, but the organic bits kept changing. They weren’t as reliable or as predictable, even if they did look good. “You think you could modify my new body a little?”

“Why, what’s wrong with it?” He was immediately worried but Lance grinned.

“Nothing, but I know that if anyone could improve on it, it’s you. Besides, I’d rather my components be yours instead of Galra, that’s how it’s always been.”

“I guess? I mean…I could maybe take a look. Upgrade a few things, make sure that you’re running in top shape. Oh! Maybe I could give you cool laser guns somewhere or a shield?” Hunk laughed, making robot noises as he pretended to blast an enemy.

“A shield? Well, you know that you already activated my particle barrier.” Lance wagged his eyebrows and Hunk gave him a playful shove.

“Stop worrying, you don’t need any upgrades and you don’t need to change yourself. I think you’re pretty perfect as is, bro.” Hunk meant it to be teasing, but there was too much truth in the confession.

The change was jarring in ways Hunk didn’t expect. He’d never actually thought they’d get this far, at least, not now. Creating a semi-organic host body for Lance was beyond his capabilities, maybe even beyond the capabilities of Balmera Prime’s best minds. There wasn’t any tech quite like Galra tech. It was what made them so formidable, but they were also the reason his best friend was so happy.

Nothing could have prepared him for this. Hunk had been, quite literally, forced to see Lance in a new light. In the early days of Lance’s life, Hunk had spent months, years even convincing himself that his best friend was real. Now there was no denying it. Everything should have been terrifyingly different, and yet… it was Lance.

It was always Lance.

“Hey buddy, you okay?” Lance was peering up at him, concern bright in his blue blue eyes. Were human eyes supposed to be that blue? Lance was going to use them like a weapon. He was going to be devastating, and there was nothing Hunk could do.

“Yeah.” Hunk said, but it sounded a little too much like a squeak. He cleared his throat. “I think I just… got some thinking to do. I think I just figured something out.”

“You’re too damn smart sometimes, dude.” Lance said, though he still leaned in, worried. “Is there something I can do to help?”

“No, it’s okay. You keep trying different foods, we’ve still got a long way to go until we find your favorite.”

Lance nodded, but he didn’t let go, fingers gently curling around Hunk’s arm to keep him from escaping. “Is everything okay? You can tell me if it’s not, you know you can tell me anything.”

“Of course not, everything is awesome!”

Lance ran his fingers over Hunk’s arm. He was able to understand touch before, but nothing prepared him for how sensitive real fingertips could be. He traced circles around Hunk’s skin, marveling how it all felt. “I’ve wanted this for a long time. I know it seems like I’m good at everything all the time, but it’s not quite true.”

“You don’t say.” Hunk said dryly.

“I mean it!” Lance looked nervous, unsure how to be this honest. “We’ve always been best friends and I never want that to change, but I-, I always wanted to be something more for you. I wanted to be real for you.”

Hunk felt his heart break just a little and squeezed Lance’s fingers reassuringly. “I know how hard it’s been lying to everyone and never being able to tell them you were alive. I’m so sorry that you had to keep hiding.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, Hunk, it’s not about me. I wanted to be real for _you_.”

Hunk’s brows furrowed. It felt like he’d uncovered an important piece in a jigsaw puzzle, but he still couldn’t quite figure out where it fit. It was important, somehow. It had to be. Lance wasn’t even looking at him. He was so small, Hunk worried. Him and Keith. If Grandma ever saw either of them, she wouldn’t let them leave the den until they were both fed, at least twice over.

“You were always real to me, Lance.” Hunk said sincerely. “Even when I was too scared to admit it.”

Lance looked up sharply, and Hunk wondered if he’d said the wrong thing. “Hunk, close your eyes.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I’m going to do something really, really dumb.”

“Like your face?” Hunk teased, grinning just a little.

“With my face.”

It sounded like a joke, but Hunk didn’t think Lance had ever been so serious. Dutifully, he closed his eyes, tight enough that they crinkled around the corners. He didn’t expect Lance to move forward.

Their lips met, the softest brush that startled Hunk’s eyes open. It was sweet, lingering just too long to be chaste before Lance pulled back. His skin flushed darker, that was a new sensation. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.” He whispered.

“To-, to kiss me?” Hunk stuttered. He reached up to touch his mouth with his fingers, still feeling the feather light press of Lance’s lips against his own.

“Yeah. That was why I wanted to be real. I _feel_ these things, I have for a long time. I don’t understand it all the time, but I know I wanted to kiss you. I’ve been dreaming about it since I ‘woke up’ back I was just a simple machine. I still had wheels then.” Lance gave an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “I wanted you to be the first kiss I ever had.”

“You never told me.”

“How could I, Hunk? I didn’t even have a mouth, I wasn’t enough. I just wanted to be enough and now, maybe, I could be? If you wanted.”

“Lance, you were always enough.”

Hunk sounded like he was going to argue, and that only made Lance laugh. He never should’ve expected anything less. “I think you severely underestimate your worth. That’s okay. That’s why I’m here - to remind you.”

He leaned closer, hesitantly at first, but Hunk just drew him in, making a hurt noise in the back of his throat when he realized there wasn’t any space left to claim. Lance’s chest did that painful expanding thing again, but it was a good sort of pain.

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Because there was nothing sweeter than falling in love with his best friend.

 

* * *

 

Shiro was warm. It felt like too long since he’d been warm, and a guilty sort of relief came with it, nagging at him that there were preparations he needed to make. The Blades of Marmora would be waiting for them. If they didn’t hurry, Shiro was pretty sure that Pidge would try to meet them alone. Maybe he could find her and-

“Shut up.”

The voice huffed against the back of his neck, echoed almost immediately by a surge that rushed through every inch of his skin. It felt distinctly like a pout. Shiro hid a smile. By the Light, Keith was loud.

“Thinking too much,” said Shiro’s favorite kettle. “Don’t go.”

Keith’s arm tightened around his waist, and he rubbed his face into the back of Shiro’s nape. He’d been doing that ever since they’d lain down and didn’t even realize it.

“We have to get up eventually.”

A silent wall of whining crashed through his mind. Keith complained internally in a way he’d never say out loud. Shiro laughed and rolled Keith over, smothering him in kisses. Lazy contentment followed, and Shiro almost let himself forget all of their responsibilities so he could spend more time drowning in it.

“You smell good.” Keith huffed. “Why do you smell so good?”

“Because you have Koryu senses.” Shiro poked Keith’s nose with a finger and watched him wrinkle it as he scowled. “You just need more practice and to make sure you don’t keep sniffing people in public. You’re like a child.”

“I am not.” Keith argued, but he still buried his face into Shiro’s collarbones and indulged himself.

Shiro gave in. He wasn’t trying all that hard not to.

He combed his fingers through Keith’s hair, eyes falling shut as kisses were peppered across his skin. Slowly Shiro moved his way down to his partner’s neck, feeling his mate shiver against him as he drew swirls just above the edge of his collar.

They’d come so far so quickly. He’d let Keith share his memories, activating his tattoos and letting Keith see him in ways Shiro could barely believe he’d ever been. The past had almost hurt too much to relieve, but Keith had been there, and Keith had been gentle. Shiro owed him so much.

A rush of remorse burned through Shiro, and it made Keith look up, his brow furrowing in question. Shiro took his time, apologizing first as he smoothed back Keith’s ears, just to watch them pop up, fuzzier than before.

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m sorry.” He said, needing the words to be clear. Keith didn’t react outwardly, but disapproval and dismissal welled inside him, burning with shame that made Shiro’s heart ache.

“It’s fine. Nothing happened.”

“I shouldn’t have hurt you.” Shiro said, unhappy but radiating comfort. “No matter what happened, I shouldn’t have.”

“Well…” More shame, more guilt. Keith’s ears flattened when Shiro kissed his cheek. He was twisting himself up, from the inside out, always so eager to accept his burden. “I’m sorry I’m a liar.”

Shiro frowned, barely tapering his own defensiveness on Keith’s behalf. “You never meant to be. It wasn’t your fault.”

Keith’s was brittle and unsteady, warmed by Shiro’s concern even in the face of his own regret. “Doesn’t mean I’m not sorry.”

“I trust you. I want you to know that.” Shiro brushed the hair from Keith’s face, gently stroking along the new furry ears until his mate shivered. “I’m always going to trust you and being Galra doesn’t change any of that.”

Keith flicked his too-ticklish ears. “I won’t let you down.”

“Come on, they’re probably wondering where we are.” Shiro kissed him, slowly taking him apart with just his mouth and relishing the spark of desire that flared to life between them. If they had more time, he’d love to fan it into a blaze and show Keith what it would be like to share pleasure with a linked mind. Maybe they’d both ink that memory into their skin. “We’ll have more time later.”

“You promise?”

“I do.” He gave Keith one more quick kiss before slipping out of the bed and hunting for clean clothes. His whole body yearned for more. Even if Keith was clumsy and didn’t speak their language yet, the touch of his mind filled the empty part of his soul that had been so silent since he’d lost his people.

It took them too long to dress, distracting each other with quick kisses and shared, easy laughter. They emerged from their sanctuary with arms slung around each other, pressed into each other’s space through the narrow stone hallways of the Blades’ ancient hideaway. A happy cheer went up when they found their friends, sharing a hug before settling into their common room to wait for their hosts to appear.  

“What’s taking them?” Shiro frowned.

“I dunno. They’re almost as bad as you two.” Pidge grumbled. Keith scowled, but Shiro could physically feel the apologetic embarrassment that swelled up inside him. He reached across and nipped at his ear, ignoring the scandalized looks Pidge was giving them both with a lazy shrug.

Their good mood held even as the Blades announced themselves, coming into their room with a knock that seemed perfunctory. Keith understood now why Shiro never seemed perturbed by them, while Hunk and Lance still tensed as the door opened. Stupid little ears.

They greeted them as a unified unit, even if standing still meant they had to look up the Galra.

“If this about another interrogation,” Shiro spoke just before their hosts could properly gather themselves, and Keith could feel the cold satisfaction that came with if. “Nothing’s changed.”

“We’ve come to offer you a choice.” Kolivan turned to Keith, towering over the smaller Galra. “Whoever you were, whatever Project Zero is inside of you, we can help you unlock your memories. The damage is severe, but we’ve had experience in resetting these lost files.”

Keith glanced anxiously at Shiro before meeting Kolivan’s eyes. His missing memories? What if he didn’t want to know who he’d been. What if he became a monster, like the other elites? It took all of his willpower to sound calm and in control, even when his mind spun with confusion and fear. “If you do this, we’ll be able to tell what Project Zero is?”

“That is the hope. Whatever damaged you looks like it tried to permanently erase everything, including you. That you survived at all is astonishing. If Project Zero is the weapon you fear it is, this may be the only way to unlock it so that it can be destroyed.” Kolivan paused for a moment, his dour face serious. “This is not without risk. If we can recover your memories, it may overwhelm and confuse you. There is even the risk that it can permanently corrupt all of your memories, leaving you an empty husk. The choice is yours.”

“Nope, no way dude.” Hunk cut in. “That’s way too big a risk, we can’t let you do that.”

“But maybe we could do something to lower the risk? I’ll bet I could help the Blades somehow, if they’d let me.” Pidge offered.

Lance disagreed. “Hunk’s right. You just literally died and they brought you back. We shouldn’t be pushing our luck here. If we’ve got Project whatever, then we just keep it safe and don’t tell anyone.”

Keith turned to Shiro who watched him silently, keeping his words and his thoughts to himself to let this decision belong to Keith. Finally, Keith sighed. “If I have a superweapon inside of me that’s dangerous enough that the Galra Empire and the Resistance both want it, then better we figure out how to get it out of me and destroy it. This could be our only chance.”

It was clear Shiro wanted to say something, worry clear in his eyes as he struggled against begging Keith not to risk himself again, but he swallowed the feeling and nodded. “Then we’re behind you. Whatever we can do to help.”

Kolivan nodded, accepting Keith’s choice. “At least some part of you remembers how to be a real Galra. Knowledge or death.”

“Sir, sir!” A lanky Galra soldier burst into the room and skidded to a stop in front of Kolivan. “We’ve just picked up a transmission. The Resistance fleet at Melemauna has been lost.”

 

_–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission—_

 

_[Begin Playback]_

 

The recording flickered a few times, static distorting the picture before it finally snapped into place on the screen. Shiro sat in front of the camera, looking tired and old. The scar across his face had faded and the streak of white in his hair was more pronounced. His arms were folded, but the telltale glow of violet still shone through his sleeve. The anger and frustration was gone, but the weariness seemed to have sunk into his very bones.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve used this, I-” He sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. “I haven’t touched it in years. There wasn’t any reason to record anything, no one is going to watch these. They were supposed to keep a log of everything we saw in our year in deep space. Now all I see is war.”

He sat back in his chair, arms folded across his chest as if lost in thought. It took several minutes before he started speaking again. “We’re losing. No one wants to admit it, but it’s been that way for a long time. I’ve seen things that-, it’s hard to sleep these days. I haven’t given up, there’s people I can save and I’ll keep pushing them back whenever I get the chance, but the Resistance has fragmented under Matt and I can’t convince him to change his mind. The only way we survive is if we stick together.”

There was another long silence and Shiro leaned forward as if to turn off the camera, but hesitated. “I went back to Koryusai.” He confessed. “I haven’t see it in almost ten years. It’s restricted space, but the Freedom is small and fast, I can usually get in and out before anyone detects me. There’s…nothing left. The only things living on the planet are Galra, though they either took most of my people for their army or killed whoever wasn’t fit enough to harvest. I couldn’t land on the surface, but I watched from the shadow of our largest moon. I didn’t expect it to hurt so much.”

Shiro stripped off his glove and held out his arm, the poisoned quintessence glowing like circuitry along the metal flesh. He pointed to his inner arm, gently tracing his fingers down the infected limb. “When we were little, we used to sneak out of the city in a skimmer. It was dangerous outside the barrier, but it was the only place we could see the stars clearly enough. Ryou would always drive even though he was barely tall enough to reach the pedals, but he did it because he knew how much I loved it. The excitement, the danger, the beautiful sky that everyone else just ignored. That was when I decided that I wanted to reach them someday and see how beautiful they looked up close. I wish I still had that feeling.”

He turned his arm to the camera, metal glinting dully in the violet light. “I tattooed that memory right here. Me and my brother, promising each other we’d make it to the stars. It was the first memory I ever inked into my skin. It’s gone now, the infection is swallowing everything.”

“Ryou, I know you gave up everything to try and save me, but maybe it’s okay to let it all fade. There’s no one left who knows what we were except for me, it’s too much to carry. When I go, it will be like we never existed.“

He looked away, beyond the camera, towards the view deck and the skies that once fascinated him so much.

“I’m sorry I let you down.”

 

_[End Playback]_


	16. Chapter 16

Pidge put her head down on the table, drifting off as exhaustion claimed her. Her workbench was scattered with pieces of her wrist device, components pulled apart and hooked up to various monitors and computers she managed to salvage from the Freedom. She’d jury-rigged the organic pieces into the machine, using what was left of the Freedom’s living core to help rewrite her virus.

Her family’s legacy.

She’d thrown herself into the project after hearing about the loss of her brother, refusing to be comforted as she worked through her grief. Her family had been her heroes, everything she’d one day hoped to be. Her parents were brilliant scientists who’d fought for a way to save people from the Galra and reclaim their lost homeworld, and her foolish, brave brother was a warrior who led the Resistance to protect them all. They’d been untouchable on her pedestals her whole life. Now, they’d come crashing back to earth.

Her parents had proposed genocide as the only option for survival, trading the Galra’s lives for their own. Her brother had thrown away everything in an attempt to wipe the Galra from Melemauna and threaten the remaining free Core Worlds to join with him. It was a desperate plan that ended in tragedy. There were survivors, there had to be. The ragged remains of the Resistance fleet limping back to safety to regroup somewhere, but how many survived? Was her brother among them?

Whatever the answer, it was clear: there weren’t enough of them left to keep fighting. The Galra were going to pick their worlds off one by one, and that didn’t even take into account Project Zero. If they ever found out what kind of strange, alien device was buried in Keith’s chest, they’d all be dead. She’s convinced the Blades to let her study their scans, but she couldn’t make any sense of the machinery or the complex program codes in Keith’s memories. A device that could transmit a synthetic virus across time and space, infecting all organics simultaneously - it sounded more like magic than science, but she didn’t know enough about any of this to be sure. For all she knew, she could have been looking at a fancy window washer.

She wasn’t sure about anything anymore. Well, that wasn’t true. She wasn’t going to let this be her story. Her parents and her brother had done everything they thought was right, fighting for the innocents against the violent, deadly Galra who took everything from them. They thought they didn’t have any other choice, but Pidge wasn’t going to fall into that trap. There had to be a better way. Keith was a Galra, and he was part of their team. Lance had a new drone body, and he wasn’t under the control of the Galra Empire. Shiro had lived with the infection, fighting every day to keep himself alive. Even the Blades, militant and cold as they were, weren’t their enemies. They’d helped her friends when they didn’t have to, they’d saved Keith and Lance. She wasn’t going to turn around and destroy them just because she could.

Maybe if there was another way, she could stop the Galra threat and still save them all. Maybe, she could make sure no one else lost someone like she’d lost Rover. Genocide wasn’t the answer, they couldn’t act like the Galra to defeat them, that’s what Shiro had always believed and he’d been right all along.

She was just so tired. The hours blurred together, lost to strings of foreign numbers and symbols that didn’t seem quite right, with only the barest help. She’d tolerated Keith’s involvement, because he deserved to be able to see his own dark past. When it came to this level of tech, Shiro was about useful as a broken wall clock, and while Lance had the potential to be useful, it was offset by how loud he was every other time she didn’t need him. The Blade of Marmora barely spoke to her. She couldn’t even say she blamed them. If they’d offered help, she’d have been glad to take it, but as it was, the only person she allowed close to her work was Hunk. Hunk, who was creative and sharp but warmer than a new dawn’s light. It still wasn’t enough. It felt like she was tangled in knots, struggling to figure out the beginning of this pattern, and if there was one thing Pidge hated above all else, it was being made to feel like she was stupid.

But she was tired, and her head spun, trying to arrange her fragmented thoughts into some measure of order. She wanted to… was it that coefficient… but what if delta correlated energy?

“Pidge?”

One more minute, she wanted to say. The back of her eyes burned, but she was on the verge of something, maybe? It was on the tip of her tongue, dancing just out of reach. She just had to keep pushing.

Then gentle arms wrapped around her side. When Shiro picked her up, she slumped against him, fast asleep before he could brace her head against his shoulder. Neither of them remembered the last time she ate.

Shiro closed the door to her makeshift lab, hoping whatever security measures Pidge had undoubtedly installed would activate on their own. He’d ask Hunk about them later, if he could. The last few days had been hard on all of them, but it felt like Pidge bore the brunt of it. Shiro had known for a long time that the Resistance was fading. He just hadn’t expected their last stand to be so final.

“Hey.” A whisper from the end of the hall caught his attention, and Keith was there, his ears flattened against his skull, looking drawn and tired. He’d just come from another session with the Blades, where he’d played their willing guinea pig, finalizing the tests that would, with any luck, open the path to his damaged programming.

Shiro could feel the tension radiating off of him, slippery and thick like oil against his skin, even as his mate tried to school his features. It probably meant they’d opened his circuitry again. Keith hated any reminder of his heritage.

“Is she okay?” Keith asked, falling into step beside them.

Shiro offered him a strained smile as he entered Pidge’s bedroom. Keith watched in the doorway as he tucked her in. It was the sort of comfort Pidge never seemed to have time for when she was awake. 

Shiro only spoke once her door closed, and he was sure she wouldn’t wake up any time soon.

“She’s hurting. She’s not giving herself time enough to grieve.” Shiro said softly as he held out his arms for Keith who stepped forward to press himself against Shiro’s body. Relief thrummed between them, the connection quieter now that Keith was tired, but always there. A constant reminder that neither one of them was alone.

“If she’d been born a few generations ago, she’d probably be starting at Sor Iroo en Narsce.” Shiro murmured. “Matt used to talk about his family a lot, back when he was a general. Their aunt, I think was one of their hacks.”

“ _Hacks?_ ” Keith repeated the derogatory term, clearly confused. Shiro mirrored the sentiment, before realization and annoyance cut through his senses, directed at their translators. He touched Keith’s hand, trying to convey the respect and admiration that Matt had for an old title of wisdom. It had been twisted into something of mockery in more recent times. Keith held on tightly.

“Were you two close?” He asked, already consoling, dredging up the first memories he had of the Resistance leader.

“Not like we used to be.” There were wounds there that Shiro wasn’t ready to face, but he shared them with Keith anyway, opening himself to him before extending his own comfort.

In his silence Shiro asked if Keith was okay, letting Keith’s worry and self-loathing wash through them both in a crashing wave before slowly turning the tide with gentle thoughts until his friend relaxed against him. Keith’s ear twitched as he buried his face against Shiro’s side, breathing in the scent of Shiro’s skin to steady himself. He didn’t even know why he did it, another quirk of this shape he hadn’t quite figured out yet. There seemed to be a lot of himself that he didn’t know, no matter what he looked like.

“They think that their procedure is the only way to figure out what’s in me. They don’t want to remove it without knowing how, they’re afraid it’s dangerous.” Keith murmured. “They’ll have to shut everything down and reboot it like-, like I’m some kind of computer.” His voice turned rough, angry at himself for being less real, less alive than he’d thought. Shiro pressed a kiss to the side of his head.

“You’re still you, Keith. How the parts fit together doesn’t matter, you’re more than just synthetic or organic.”

“Am I? If something goes wrong, then what if I become a monster like the other Galra? What if I don’t what to know what memories I lost, maybe they’re gone for a reason.” Keith said, his voice was even but Shiro could feel his misery. “I don’t want to hurt people, I never did.”

“Whatever you decide to do, I’m going to support you.” Shiro promised. “I’ll always be right beside you.”

Keith pushed, trying to gauge Shiro’s opinion. He was more subtle than before but that was like saying a truck was more subtle than a bulldozer. Shiro just kissed him again, coaxing him open with his tongue and lips until Keith shuddered, radiating warmth. It was the simplest truth Shiro could offer when all their choices were built on minefields.

No matter what, Shiro was going to be with him.

A sorrow lingered in the back of Keith’s mind, an anxious worry that he couldn’t properly dispel, even with his mate so close. Keith held on to him, until he was ready to speak. “We’re running out of time. There was another transmission today. The Balmerans are mobilizing. They’re not sure they can win this.” Keith swallowed thickly. “Do you think Hunk knows?”

“I haven’t told him.” Shiro admitted. “There’s nothing we can do to help them except hope that Pidge figures out her virus and find a way to deploy it. We knew this was going to be a difficult mission.” They weren’t supposed to come back from this one, the admission hung in the air before Shiro could pull it back. He’d gotten too used to being alone in his own head, not meaning for Keith to catch that thought. Keith leaned in closer, stubbornness and determination yelling through their connection so loudly that Shiro had to chuckle.

“Haven’t we done the impossible so far?”

“You’re right. If anyone is going to win this, it’s going to be us. Pidge is working hard and if she can convince the Blades that we’re not going to harm them, they might even offer their help. Plus, she’s got the rest of us right here.”

“And Project Zero?” Keith asked, the fragile bubble of hope so close to bursting. “If we knew what it was, we could make sure they never got their hands on it or…or we could find a way to turn it against them.”

“That’s dangerous, Keith.”

“But we don’t have a lot of options anymore. Maybe this is the key to the whole thing? It’s tech beyond anything anyone’s seen before, Pidge doesn’t understand it and neither do the Blades. If we can use it-”

“So you’ve made up your mind?” Shiro’s voice was soft, the emotions whispered through their connection too complicated for Keith to understand.

Keith hesitated one last time. He never had so much to lose, but if he didn’t take the risk, it would all slip through his fingers anyway. Shiro felt the turmoil as his own, drawing Keith in as his own storm raged beneath his skin, leaving them both breathless and open.

“I think I have,” Keith said softly, the words inadequate and restrained around everything he wanted to say, everything that had lead him to this decision. Yet he knew Shiro understood him anyway, even as his partner struggled with his own wants and needs. Beneath it all was a warm, tender pride, meant solely for Keith. Whatever else Shiro felt about his decision, Keith knew he thought that Keith was brave.

Shiro kissed his brow, smoothing back his hair and teasing his ears in a way that always got Keith flustered. “We’re partners.”

Keith wrapped his arms around Shiro’s neck, bringing him as close as he could in that moment, and pleaded, “Stay with me tonight.”

But he meant  _every night._  For as long as Shiro could.

“Of course.” Shiro laughed against Keith’s mouth, moving in for another kiss. There would be time enough for worry later.

 

* * *

 

Morning came too soon, or what passed as morning in the ancient underground hallways the Blades of Marmora called home. Keith had been whisked away to begin the procedure, but the Blades hadn’t let Shiro into the operating room. Their process was delicate, and they claimed his drone programming could cause complications, though Shiro thought it was more that they didn’t want outsiders knowing their secrets. Or organics watching the Galra elites at their weakest.

If they could help Keith, then Shiro would wait, but he hovered outside of the operating room, watching the gathered Blades through the observation window. He was too far away to see what they were doing, but they crowded around Keith who gave him one last look and a small, determined nod before laying on the table beneath bright lights suspended from the ceiling.

“He’s going to be okay.” Lance said, leaning up against the glass.

“Aren’t I the one who’s supposed to be saying that?”

“Well, yeah! But since it’s  _him_ , I figured someone else better be the one to tell you.” Lance flashed Shiro his brightest grin. “Those Blade dudes do good work, just look at me.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Shiro smiled, Lance’s attempt at distracting him welcome. He pulled himself back from the window and sat down with a sigh near where Pidge and Hunk hunched together. “How are you guys doing?”

Pidge looked up, dark smudges under her eyes, but Hunk gave him a thumbs up. “Pidge’s new modifications are brilliant. I think this might actually work.” He said.

“The Blades helped us after all, even if they didn’t mean to.” Pidge glanced up at the window. “Lance let us look at his new body. It’s the first time I’ve ever really been able to study an intact Galra before. They might have given us the key to solving this on our own.”

Lance struck a pose and flexed. “You can look at my new body any time you-”

“Lance!” Shiro cut in as Lance pouted.

“Sorry dude,” Hunk said, with no sympathy. He reached out and ruffled Lance’s hair affectionately, and it looked like Lance would melt against him. “We just have to talk to Kolivan and then. Well.”

He turned to Pidge, and she shrugged, the burden she bore easing for the moment. Shiro didn’t know what she had planned, but it looked like she was one step closer to meeting it. If he could take her all the way, he would. Shiro’s ears flicked towards an unfamiliar sound, and he refused to startle when Kolivan announced himself.

“What is it you wish to discuss?”

Pidge got to her feet immediately, looking up at the Galra without hesitation and just a touch of wildness. Her crew flanked her, Hunk to her right and Shiro to her left, but this was her battle, and they would not take it from her.

“I’ve gone as far as I could with my research. I think there’s something you would like to see.” Kolivan narrowed his eyes at her, his mouth turning down in a pointed frown, and Pidge barreled forward, voice raising in pitch as hope and panic intertwined, threatening to take her away. She’d worked too hard, for too long, and nothing she’d done had ever mattered as much as this. Nothing she’d done had ever had the ability to affect so many lives. “I don’t want to be my parents. I don’t agree with what they did. But I don’t think we can afford to stop fighting. All of us. Because even if you run, even if you spend the rest of your lives underground, you’re still a part of this galaxy, and the Galra affect all of us.”

“I will not sacrifice my people to your slaughter.” He meant to end the conversation right there, but Pidge stepped forward, eyes wild.

“You won’t have to!” She insisted. “And you shouldn’t have to. Give me a chance to explain.”

The Blade looked unconvinced, crossing his massive arms over his chest and looking coldly down at the young Quvari who barely came up to his waist. “Then explain.”

Pidge seized on her change, quickly pulling up a 3-d display of her work and projecting it out around him. The room filled with numbers and codes, twisting and replicating like they were living strands of DNA. A synthetic virus based around the Galra’s own infection that could convert flesh to machine. Just looking at it made Shiro uncomfortable.

“There’s a reason that none of this has been working. It’s more than just understanding the Galra tech enough to craft the virus, being able to spread it through the machines. There’s  _something_  I’m missing and I can’t tell what it is. Something at the core of how they work.” She said with a huff of frustration. She had been working on this project for years since her parents had disappeared, and she still couldn’t figure out what she was missing. Pidge loved puzzles, but not one she couldn’t solve.

“And how does this change anything?” Kolivan said in a clipped tone.

“Because even if I’m missing something, there’s things I can change. Look.” She brushed her hands through the numbers, sending the holographic virus scattering across the room as she pulled one strand closer. She stretched it out, showing how the rapidly flickering chains of numbers twisted in on themselves. “My parents thought that the virus could work by shutting down the nervous system. It’s the technological equivalent of dropping a bomb, it just wipes out everything. If you help me, I can refine it, go from a bomb to a scalpel. I can ID those who are linked to the Galra Empire only and bypass any Galra who’s severed their connection to Emperor Zarkon’s collective. It won’t affect the Blades of Marmora at all.”

Kolivan’s mouth tightened at the mention of the Galra’s shadowy leader. “What if you’re wrong?”

“And what if I’m not?!” Pidge threw her hands up. “The Resistance fleet was  _destroyed_ , what other hope do we have? When the Galra take over, they’re going to wipe you out the same as they’ll do to us. You believed in working together to stop them once, you were part of the Resistance under the Paladin before it all fell apart. I’m not going to hurt your people, but I can’t help them if you don’t help us too.”

The Blades glanced at each other from behind their masks, silence heavy with unspoken words. “The Paladin had the gift to unite even the fiercest of enemies to the cause. We believed that we would be victorious together, but organics proved they can’t be trusted.”

“Just like all Galra can’t be trusted?” Pidge shot back. “Yeah, some of us are horrible. I’ve seen the worst of what organics do to each other when they’re scared or greedy, but we’re not all like that just like you’re not the same as the Galra who destroyed my planet or killed my family.” Angry tears gathered in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. “I can’t make up for everything horrible organics have done or everything we’ve lost, but I can keep trying to make things better.”

She startled as a metal hand closed gently around her shoulder, Shiro coming to stand with her. Hunk and Lance leaned in too, meeting the Blades of Marmoras united. Their own small family, organics and synthetics, working together as a team.

Kolivan’s expression never faltered, never giving away any trace of emotion until he let them see the way his shoulders eased with acceptance. “When we continue these experiments, it will be on our terms. You and yours will not be allowed access without the presence of a Blade.”

“Yes okay.” The words left Pidge in a rush, far too excited for her own good. It made Kolivan frown, but she didn’t care. She’d been ready to fight for her right to stay on the project at all, and if she was honest, she’d have been willing to sacrifice the rest of her team’s involvement just to keep it. This would be more difficult than she was used to. Playing nice with any team had always been a challenge, but she couldn’t blame their caution. She still felt too much like celebrating. “Thank you. This means so much, this… We’ll do a lot of good work through this.”

That didn’t seem to entirely satisfy Kolivan, but he nodded anyway. “I hope you are right, Young Holt.”

Hunk wrapped his arms around the Quvari, and Pidge sank into him, almost numb with giddy relief. When Shiro ruffled her hair, she did little more than smile.

As they celebrated in hushed whispers and strangled laughs, Shiro approached the Galra leader. They both turned to watch the door.

“Did you come here just to speak with us?” He asked. Shiro had long suspected that the Galra had ears everywhere.

“No, Champion.” Kolivan said, using the title without a hint of irony or mockery. “I was informed that the operation would be complete soon.

“And is he alright?” Shiro’s voice was calm and measured, the only hint at his worry the slight tension in the way he held his body. Kolivan looked through the glass towards the operation room where his colleagues clustered around the table, Keith obscured from view.

“He survived deactivation once, he’s strong. He may be a little disoriented as his memories are rebooted, but my people are good at what they do. He is in good hands.”

Shiro gave a curt nod, but the reassurances did little to relieve his worry. This would all be okay, he had to stop worrying so much. Keith was going to be fine, and the Blades were there to help. It would all be over soon. 

He was right about the last part.

The glass cracked as one of the Blades was thrown against the window. The room erupted into chaos and yelling. Another one of the Blades went flying as Keith surged from the table. He yanked a knife from one of his captor’s belts, the metal responding to his touch and lengthening into a sword that he brandished with practiced ease.

“Stop him! He doesn’t know what he’s doing!” Kolivan drew his own weapon, but Shiro pushed passed him, bursting into the room.

“Keith!”

The creature who faced him was more monster than the man he knew, finally stripped down to his truest form. His skin was pale purple, ears lengthened into a point. His eyes glowed a yellow to match the light that had bled into Shiro’s own, and the dark hair had turned shock white. He was every inch a Galra Elite, proud to the point of arrogance with a sneer that curled wickedly around his lips.

It hurt to look at him.

“Keith!” Pidge yelled, rushing towards the door with Hunk and Lance hot on her heels. Kolivan was already a step ahead of them, blade raised, preparing to strike. Keith grabbed the operating table and threw it at the Galra, sending him tumbling into the rest of the crew. Before they could fall, he’d grabbed a blaster off of one of his opponents and fired into the ceiling, dropping a mountain of debris between himself and the entrance. Members of the Blade were already trying to break down the viewing window. Keith sent them a disinterested, dismissive glance before turning to those already trapped with him.

“Keith, stop.” Shiro pleaded, putting himself between Keith and everything else he could destroy. He fell into an aggressive stance, but his arm remained inactive. “I don’t want to fight you.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Keith lunged, startling Shiro with his speed and strength before he grabbed him by his Galra arm and bodily threw him across the room. He crashed into a control panel in a flurry of sparks.

One of the technicians was picking herself up off the ground, feet unsteady but hand already on her weapon. Keith kicked it away, knocking her down before slamming her into a coworker. They fell into a crumpled heap. He raised his blade, ready to finish them off. He never should’ve underestimated the Koryu.

Out of his blind side, Shiro slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. “Get out of here!” He yelled. “I’ve got him, Keith, please!”

“That is not my name.” Keith snarled, slamming the hilt of his stolen sword in Shiro’s face. Blood sprayed across the stone as Shiro grunted in pain, loosening his grip enough that Keith was able to escape. He moved like Shiro had never seen him before. He’d always been quick and aggressive, learning each move with a grace that had always started Shiro. But this was different. His body was a weapon and one perfectly honed for violence. He fought with blinding speed and brutal efficiency, never wasting a single movement.

Shiro rolled to his feet, his arm finally flaring to life with a bright violet glow. He caught Keith’s blade with his forearm, deflecting the blow with a metal clang. “Keith,  _stop!_ ”

“Do you have any idea who I am?” Keith jeered, face twisted in haughty disdain. “What is this place, where have you taken me?”

“We’re trying to help! It’s okay, you’re just confused. You know me, you know I’m never going to let anyone hurt you.” Shiro begged, but there was no recognition in Keith’s yellow eyes.  

Keith glanced at the Blades, spitting his words. “I know  _them_. Traitors to the Empire! You turned on your own people. You were idiots to bring me here, I’ll be well rewarded after I destroy you.”

“Please!” Shiro held up his hands, pleading with Keith to listen. “Don’t you remember me?”

The words meant nothing, but Keith could see he was outnumbered. The traitors had captured him and brought him into the heart of their base. It would be their mistake not to have killed him before they had the chance. He gave Shiro a smirk and a salute with his stolen sword before leaping up to the hole he’d broken into the ceiling. Before Shiro could stop him, he’d disappeared into the ancient twisting tunnels of the ruins while the Blades scrambled below to follow.

“After him!” Kolivan ordered, but as they swept around Shiro with all the force of the rushing tide, Shiro’s knees buckled. It felt like they were already too late.

 

* * *

 

The Blade of Marmora chased Keith through the catacombs of their hideaway in a game of cat and mouse that blurred the lines between hunter and hunted. Keith was outnumbered and in unfamiliar territory, but that didn’t seem to slow him down. He’d kept his blaster, and the sound of a fire fight never completely faded from the ancient halls. Shiro’d ordered Pidge and Hunk to stay behind and help the Blade technicians find a way to track their intruder. It had been the wisest use of manpower, but part of Shiro had worried about what would happen if Keith wasn’t afraid to pull the trigger.

“What happened?” Shiro rounded on Kolivan, fangs bared. “What did you do to him?”

“The procedure was a success, he has access to his fragmented memories again. It will take him time to process the new information.” Even Kolivan’s normal stoic expression looked strained as he paused from barking orders at the Blades to speak with Shiro.

“So he’s going to go back to normal?”

“That is the hope. Right now, he doesn’t remember where he is or why he’s here. We need to stop him before he causes any damage.”

“We’re not hurting him.” Shiro cut Kolivan off with the sharp command. “When we find him, we’ll talk him down until he remembers again.”

Kolivan leveled his gaze on the upstart Koryu. “If he attempts to hurt my people, I will do whatever it takes to stop him.”

“You’re not hurting him.” Shiro repeated with a snarl, his eyes catching with a dangerous yellow glow. The two faced off, neither backing down until a woman’s voice interrupted them.

“Sir, we’ve picked up motion near the power core.”

“I’m going to find him. If he changes location, contact me.” Shiro was already moving before Kolivan could protest. Keith had done all of this to save them, he’d put himself at risk for answers they all needed. He’d made a sacrifice for all of them and Shiro wasn’t going to lose him again. If he could just corner Keith long enough to talk with him, he knew he’d be able to get through. Keith would have to remember.

The Koryu tore through the winding halls of the temple, occasionally turning at Pidge’s command. Her voice came through crisp and clear in his communicator, but Shiro was always a fraction of a second ahead. If he was honest, he’d stop listening to her directions. Something was pulling him forward, an irresistible, bone-deep instinct that echoed through his head and burned with the pulsing of poisoned quintessence through his veins.

Shiro should have been scared. He never remembered to be.

He came to a halt in the entrance of a large cavern, interrupted only by an unused alter at its center. He took a tentative step forward, and the ground beneath his feet flared to life, dissected by glowing lines of power. Shiro waited, breath caught in his throat, for any sign that the temple’s ancient guardians had awoken once more, but there was nothing. Until a flare of light burst from his periphery, and Keith tried to blast his head off.

It was luck that sent him dodging to the side, saving himself as the laser blast seared passed his skin. Keith launched himself at Shiro, a flurry of attacks that sent Shiro stumbling back and trying to defend. They grappled, Shiro knocking the legs out from under Keith who grabbed onto him and yanked Shiro down as he fell, rolling back to his feet with ease.

“Keith, you have to stop!” Shiro tried, meeting each strike but refusing to attack. “I’m not your enemy, you have to remember.”

“No, you’re not my enemy, are you?” Something cold and cruel passed across Keith’s face, the familiar features twisted in his Galra form. “You’re a sad little drone begging for someone to take control. I can feel you calling out to me.”

“I’m Shiro, you know me.”

“Kneel.” With one word, Shiro felt his body lock. Keith dipped into his thoughts with a razor’s precision, sending him down to the floor. Everything in Shiro screamed for this, needed the control. The whispering voices intensified and drew him in, billions upon billions of interconnected minds released from choice or individuality. All he had to do was submit and obey, let the elites direct each thought, and he would finally be free.

“S-stop.” Shiro whispered the word from numb lips.

Keith looked amused as reached out, carding his fingers through Shiro’s hair as he closed his eyes in pleasure. “Why are you fighting it? This is your purpose, I can’t believe someone left you alone for so long. Don’t worry, I know exactly what a drone needs. I’ll take away all your fear and all your pain, and you will help me escape this place.”

“Stop.”

Keith cupped Shiro’s chin, forcing his head back as his other hand slipped around his throat. Deft fingers traced the data ports that dug into his skin. When they pressed in, Shiro wasn’t allowed to cry. His vision blurred, a spark of pain flaring beneath his skin before it faded to a dull discomfort, but tears still prickled in his eyes. He could feel them, oh Light he could  _feel_ them, the individual plates shifting and claiming his flesh, twisting him to the wants of his master.

“Keith.” Shiro whispered, every ounce of strength he could muster bucking against the elite’s control. There was blood in his mouth, and the acrid taste of steel, and Shiro couldn’t, he couldn’t- “Keith don’t.”

He slumped forward, his head falling against Keith’s abdomen, grip loose but still clinging to Keith’s sides. He’d fought and fought, but now there was nothing left for Shiro to do but fall.

“You never wanted to hurt anyone.”

The words hung in the air, slurred in Shiro’s last breath as his vision narrowed into dark tunnels.  _Anything but this. Please, don’t let me be one of them, I’d rather die._

The connect cut off so suddenly that Shiro gasped, silence ringing between his ears. He collapsed to the ground, cheek resting against the cold stone of the temple floor. Thoughts fired like sparks, disjointed in jagged pieces as the pain threaded each one together.

“Who  _are_  you?” Keith hissed, the humor gone. Shiro couldn’t answer, his lungs rattling with metal and everything in him calling out for that connection, the blissful nothingness of a drone. The elite nudged Shiro with his shoe, wondering why this done kept fighting against the inevitable. And why was he hesitating to bring the drone to heel? With a snarl, he left Shiro sprawled at his feet and disappeared back into the tunnels.

“Shiro? Shiro!” Pidge’s voice yelled through the communicator. “We just picked up a transmission sent out on all channels, Keith must have sent it. The Galra know where we are!”

 

* * *

 

_–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission?—_

_Keith looked down at the blinking alert on his wrist display, something twisting in his chest. It wouldn't stop._

 

 _> >>No_ 

 

_[End Playback]_


	17. Chapter 17

The cold curl of poisonous rage was almost enough to drown out the panic that resonated inside his skull. Keith stamped it down as he squeezed himself through ancient passages, darkness pressing in around him and threatening to swallow him whole. He was somewhere deep in the temple, lost down hallways in the very heart of his enemies’ stronghold. Things moved in the shadows, scurrying things he couldn’t see. Lights flickered at the edges of his vision, from some energy living in the wall. They were the ghosts of guardians, though he wasn’t sure how he knew that.

_What have they done to me?_

He stumbled, flashes of light and sound crashing through his skull until it felt like it was going to split in two. Keith fisted his fingers into his white hair, muffling a scream. This was wrong, he had to go back! Why did he have to go back? He had to get away, get back to the fleet. His duty. The traitors would pay for what they’d done to him.

Gentle hands, a laughing mouth pressed against his, warm furry ears twitching beneath his fingers as he gave them a teasing tug.

_What the hell?_

That drone staring at him in shock, the touch of his mind. The pain at the connection, begging for death instead of accepting his ascension into a higher being.

_Get out, keep running._ Keith swore. Help would be here soon, and he could finally stop the strange power pouring from the thing he’d wired into his chest. It sent heat pulsing through his veins, and left Keith feeling like his ribs were going to collapse. When he thought of the drone, it only burned brighter.

Enough!

This had to be enough. Keith shook himself, acid burning in the back of his throat. He pushed himself forward, better to be moving than not. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t sure where to go. It didn’t matter that his enemies were gaining on him, and it didn’t matter that he was losing his mind. Reinforcements would converge on the planet soon enough.

Then he would finally be home.

 

* * *

 

Hunk’s head ached. In front of him, Pidge was watching a Galra technician work, following the wicked fast flex of his fingers like she was hypnotized. By his side, Lance leaned against him, pressing closer, not at all concerned by the panel in front of Hunk and all the sensitive buttons he could accidentally bump. Frankly, Hunk didn’t care much either.

The Galra were on their way, and there was nothing they could do to stop them.

It felt like they were waiting for something to happen, waiting or praying. Then Kolivan stepped forward and activated the communicator channels throughout the base. 

“Code Blue. Prepare for evacuation.”

“What?” Hunk looked over at his friends. “What about Keith? And Shiro?”

“Your friend Keith announced our location on all channels. Every Galra fleet in this sector will be headed this way.” Kolivan growled, stepping away from the communicator. “The civilians are our priority. We need to get them off planet while there’s still a chance.”

“I’m not leaving Keith behind.” They all jumped as Shiro’s voice came from the doorway. He staggered, and Hunk and Lance rushed to his side to help keep him standing.

Shiro was almost unrecognizable. Jagged cuts of white had spread down his skull like it was being torn open. A circuitry lined in poisoned quintessence cut across his face, all the more horrid when both his eyes glowed a dim yellow. He was tired. He was so damn tired. The voices were loud enough to drown out everything, insistent, demanding, and irresistible. They called to him to join them, give up himself and connect, let their unity replace his thoughts and every bit of individuality left to him.

Sweet light, Shiro wanted it more than anything.

Shiro snarled at thin air as Hunk and Lance shared a look. “Uh, Shiro? Who are you talking to?”

“Nothing. No one.” He pushed himself out of their hands and fixed his eyes on Kolivan. His crew had slipped into madness in their last moments, speaking to voices only they could hear before the Galra took them entirely. Now he could understand how much they wanted to let go. Kolivan almost seemed to glow at his edges, and Shiro fought an impulse to plead for orders from the closest Galra Elite he could find.

“Keith is still in there. If the Galra fleet is coming, I’m not leaving him behind.” 

Kolivan hissed, not in frustration but in anger, his ears folding along the length of his skull as trying to escape something unpleasant. “There is nothing you or anyone can do for him. There is nothing left of you. You are already broadcasting your status for any Elite to take. My people will not wait for your suicide.”

There was no malice in his tone, but it held a finality that left no room for kindness either.

Pidge inhaled sharply, her eyes gone wide, and Lance watched Shiro with open regret. Shiro wished he didn’t notice because he could almost feel Kolivan’s displeasure. It was a bond as different from the connections he’d known with his people as the sun was to the moon, but there was a familiarity to it. No matter how different, both sun and moon still shared the same sky.

“I’m not asking you to wait, but having a man on the ground might buy you more time when the Galra show up.” Shiro said, and his expression softened. “Besides, I’ve got nothing left to lose. “

“We’re staying too.” Hunk swallowed hard and stepped forward beside Shiro.

“We are?!” Lance yelped.

“Yes. The Blades of Marmora helped us when they didn’t have to, we crashed into their home, and they did everything they could for you and Keith and Shiro. I can’t just run away.” Hunk looked down at his hands, big and rough, clenching them tightly. “I’m tired of other people fighting for me while we don’t risk anything. It’s what Shay did for us, it’s our turn to pay it forward.”

Lance wrapped his arm around Hunk, face drawn. Worry was a strange look for him, but Hunk could see his best friend in those brown eyes and in each angle of his face. He wanted for his best friend to protest, but Lance surprised him. Hunk realized he shouldn’t have been so surprised.

“You’re right.” Lance said softly. “I want to stay, too. We’re going to help these people get out of here and then I’ll make sure you do too.”

“Deal.”

“Then you’re all fools.” Kolivan said. “But welcome fools. You’re not what we expected from organics.”

“We have some things to make up for.” Pidge said, moving to stand alongside her friends. Hunk clapped an arm on her shoulder, hard enough to make her stumble forward, but she leaned back against him anyway. “I think I have a plan maybe? The virus can work. We can make it work. It needs help, but we can get it to work, and that’ll stop any Galra trying to come after you.”

Kolivan’s expression soured, the same way it did every time the virus was brought up, but his eyes darted towards one of the screens displayed on the control panel. He watched as the people he protected were moved as quickly as possible to their transport ships. They’d been prepared for this, in as much as they could be, but trying to outrun a galaxy before they found a place to disappear to would be difficult.

“Caltha, Grak.” Kolivan summoned. Two members of the Blade came forward, standing at attention. Despite the threat hanging over their heads, or maybe because of it, they were eager to answer. “Work with Holt. Take what you need, but not your time. You have until my ship evacuates.”

They saluted stiffly as Pidge grabbed Kolivan’s arm, squeezing it tight in a gesture of thanks from her people. The Blade was startled, but returned the gesture, if not with quite so much warmth.

“You have to be careful, okay Pidge?” Lance let go of Hunk long enough to give the Quvari a hug. “We’re counting on you.”

“Just keep the way clear for everyone.” She said with a weak smile. “I believe in you guys.”

Lance puffed up his chest with pride. “Of course we will! Kolivan, my man, we’re gonna need some weapons if we’re about to face hordes of evil Galra drones. Let’s get your best stuff.”

Pidge waved goodbye as Kolivan tried not to roll his eyes and failed, gesturing the meager troops he had left towards the weapons locker. Hunk looked nervously at Shiro who stared blanking out from yellow eyes, touching his arm to rouse him. He jumped, swearing he could feel the prickle of electricity through Shiro’s skin.

“You ready?”

“Ready. Yes.” Shiro’s voice was stilted, but he managed to speak on his own, which Hunk wondered was as close to a win as they could hope for. Maybe when all of this was over and they were safe, there’d be a way to save him too.

Up ahead, Lance looked like a kid in a crystal store, cooing at everything that could possibly go boom, but Shiro just picked the gun closest to him and fell silent. It was as if his earlier outburst had sapped him of his energy, and Hunk wasn’t keen on finding out what it’d left behind. He followed Shiro’s example anyway, picking a blaster out of its stand. It was heavier than he was expecting, and obviously made for longer arms, but so were all the blasters at the shooting range he’d used to practice. Even without his older brother’s influence, anyone considering a career in diplomacy had been encouraged to go through self-defense and basic training courses. In the end Hunk hadn’t followed in Shay’s footsteps, but that didn’t change that their generation had always been expected to fight for peace. It was only now that Hunk really understood what that meant.

“Hey Hunky, sweet deal, right?” Lance sidled right up to him, nudging him with his hip and brandishing his gun, and Hunk was forced to smile. Lance lit up, like he’d just gotten exactly what he’d wanted, and he smushed his cheek against Hunk’s arm, leaning on him without shame. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just nervous.” Hunk gave a shaky laugh. “Okay, terrified. This being brave stuff is a lot scarier than I thought it would be.”

“It’s a good look on you.” Lance teased, but he wasn’t teasing at all. Hunk had always been his whole world, but he’d changed these last few weeks, grown. Hunk had always been smarter than anyone he’d ever known, but now he was braver too. He’d shown Lance what it meant to care about others and how to be a hero.

Love was a new feeling, something more than just his adoration that he’d carried with him since he was just a little handheld toy bot. It was sharper, almost painful, a pressure in his chest that threatened to expand out forever. It made his heart race, (his  _heart!)_ , his skin flush, his stomach clench in electric excitement. He wanted with a strength that left him reeling, hopeful and fragile and overwhelmed. Hunk had turned him from programs and metal pieces into something that could feel like this, alive in every sense even before he had the body to return the affection.

“When we go home, I can’t wait to tell Shay everything that you’ve done. She’s going to be so proud of you.” He murmured to Hunk, straightening his headband.

“When we go home, I can’t wait to tell everyone about you.” Hunk promised.

Lance beamed as he pressed a kiss against Hunk’s shoulder, happy to just be given the chance, and it was with a steady heart that he spoke. “Maybe you don’t have to tell them immediately.” Hunk looked up, confusion clear to see, but Lance just shrugged. “Or just not yet. When this all blows over. It’s okay.”

He could tell that he’d surprised Hunk. Lance had surprised himself, but things were different now. He was different. He’d spent so long chasing a goal that felt more like smoke than anything else, and now that he’d finally reached it, Lance was more settled than he could ever remember being. And it was more than that. The galaxy was falling apart around them. This fight wasn’t going to end just because they returned to Balmera Prime. If he could make things easier for Hunk for a little while longer, then he would. It felt like the right thing to do.

“We’ll tell Shay.” The corners of Hunk’s mouth turned down in a disappointed pout. “She’ll believe us. She’ll want to meet my best friend.”

Hunk must have said something right, because Lance lit up like starlight, grinning so wide his face had to hurt. He squeezed Hunk, hard enough that Hunk’s feet rose off the ground, just a little, and Hunk’s eyes went wide. He was used to getting picked up, just not by people as tiny as Lance.

“I had a list, you know.” Lance murmured, shamelessly nuzzling against Hunk’s side. “I started it in the beginning, when I first realized that I wanted… more. It got too big to keep, because like, after a while it just started to hurt. There was too much, but I don’t think it has to be like that anymore.”

Hunk inhaled sharply, and suddenly Lance was being spun, until he was face to face with his best friend. Hunk pulled him into the tightest hug, squeezing so tight that Lance’s ribs creaked, but he’d never felt so safe. “It’s not going to be.” Hunk promised. “You and I are going to do everything, dude. I promise.”

Lance shivered, going pink around his smile, but there was something endlessly satisfying about how protective his best friend was. “Don’t worry dude. Once I single-handedly take down the Galra, I’ll get hero perks from everyone. Just you wait.”

“Unless I get them all first.” Lance always did bring out his competitive side, as small as it was. They shared a laugh, sharing each other’s space in a single moment of happiness as the world fell apart around them. “First we gotta bring everyone home.” 

They both shot a quick glance towards Shiro. The Koryu hadn’t said a word yet, nor had he moved since they’d last seen him.

“We’ve grouped the civilians, they’re waiting for us down corridor 3. We’ll be escorting them down to the hangar bay, expect heavy resistance. Scans indicate intruders in our air space, assume we’ve been infiltrated.” Kolivan’s voice cut in and snapped everyone back into action. Hunk and Lance readied their weapons and with a steady hand, they helped guide Shiro away.

 

* * *

 

Hunk wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but the civilians were calm and composed throughout.  Yet no matter how quickly they obeyed, there was power in a crowd, and it pulsed every time they moved. Hunk worried about the little Galra that ran alongside their parents, or were tucked against them in soft cloth. He hadn’t realized that elites could have children or how different they must be from the billions of drones they infected and enslaved. They were real people, and when one little girl looked up at him with bright yellow eyes, Hunk felt his heart clench. 

They would be evacuated first, but it still felt like there were too many of them, and Hunk was irrationally worried that there wouldn’t be enough ships waiting for them in the hangar. Hunk kind of wanted an exact count of the ships, and then maybe a dozen extra just to be safe.

“Dude, I can hear you worrying.” Lance came up to him, just as Hunk finished scanning one of the civilian rooms. It wasn’t as thorough as they’d like to be, but they did what they could to make sure no one was left behind. Clinging to Lance’s arm was a small purple child, her tiny hands digging into his wrist and short hair standing up in every direction. “Relax, you’re making Jile here stress out.”

He tipped Hunk the biggest wink he could manage, and the little Galra puffed up, her ears flattening against her skull. “I am not!”

Hunk’s eyes widened, then he crouched down as low as he would go, looking her in the eye. “That’s good, because I’m pretty nervous. I think I just want someone to hold my hand. It’ll help a lot.”

“Organics are so stupid.” Even so young, the Galra were serious and uncompromising. Hunk wondered if that was a trait of their people or just a result of living and training with the dour Blades of Marmora.

“I’m not an organic, I’m a robot downloaded into a drone body.” Lance said proudly as the little girl stared unblinkingly at him.

“Robots are dumb too.”

Lance sighed, there was no winning.

“Everyone, stick close to the warriors.” Kolivan ordered. “The temple’s guardian system has been activated, but there is a clear path to the Hangar Bay. Once there, find your assigned ships and prepare for an immediate jump. May the Light guide us all.”

“See? We’re two of the warriors, you’re okay with us.” Lance promised, but Jile just snorted and ran to cling to Antok’s leg. The enormous Blade didn’t speak as he lifted her up with his tail into a gentle hug before depositing her back into her worried parent’s arms.

They flanked the civilians with the masked and armored Blades of Marmora who moved with the shadows like they’d been born to them. They had been created for war and honed for violence, sharp and deadly as their name. Hunk and Lance trailed behind with Shiro who followed with a grim, single-minded determination. He didn’t speak much, grunting answers to their quiet questions. Shiro had lost something. He didn’t so much live as move with the memory of what it had been to be alive. His ruined face couldn’t smile, veins glowing with every slow mechanical beat of what used to be his heart, but when he put a reassuring hand on Hunk’s shoulder as they silently moved through darkened hallways, they knew somehow, Shiro was holding on.

“It’s creepy.” Lance whispered out of the side of his mouth, unnerved by the silence. He’d spoken too soon.

A massive explosion rocked the temple compound, debris tumbling from the ceiling of the ancient hallways. Even as Hunk yelped and covered his head, the Blades fell silent, though when Hunk peeked out from between his fingers, he saw the fear in Jile’s bright glowing eyes.

Immediately the Blades split into two groups, the first shielding the civilians, a row of physical shields while the rest guided them down the hurried hall. Hunk swallowed down a gasp as Shiro pushed him and Lance against the wall, falling into a defensive stance that he’d never seen before. There was a moment, barely a second long, where Shiro came back to himself, trapped emotion playing beneath his wide eyes as he took in his posture. There was just no time to mourn.

Out of the darkness poured blast after blast of laser fire, and in came a fleet of Galra soldiers. One of the Blades fired into a support column, and the stone came tumbling down, as close to a barrier as they could get. The other were already attacking, pushing off the walls and twisting through the shadows to avoid each hit, moving closer and closer until they could silence their enemies with their swords.

The drones they missed were immediately slaughtered by gun fire.

It had been a long time since Hunk had practiced with a weapon, longer still since he’d practiced with a moving target, and he’d never done anything like this. His hands were clammy, breath coming in short bursts, but as the recoil pressed against his shoulders, the force of his weapon coming back at him, he moved with it. The body remembered what the mind didn’t.  

The weapon was heavy, but he shouldered the gun and fired again. The massive energy blast tore through stone and flesh, scattered sparking components of Galra drones as they hit. Hunk thought he was going to be sick, but swallowed hard and aimed again. The drones poured from down the hall, mindless killing machines from dozens of different species, all machines of the Galra Empire now. Their eyes were blank as Shiro’s, burning a dull gold. Some of them looked almost real, even though they wore Galra armor. Humans, Quvari, the sawed-off horns of Antalians. Others wore their infections in their skin, organic flesh burned with circuitry and toxic quintessence.

Shiro broke from the group, hand flaring with the same bright violet light as he used his body as a weapon, twisting in air like a dancer to cut down drone after drone. He was almost too fast to see, a whirlwind of death, using the Galra’s own technology against them while he could. Hunk fired again, the heavy canon blasting a hole in the wall of the ancient tunnel and sending down an avalanche of rocks that crushed a handful of drones.

Beside him, Lance had gone still and serious, peering through the scope of his rifle. He shot carefully, each blast targeted with precision as he hit an Antalian between the eyes, sending him twitching to the ground moments before he could attack Shiro. “There’s too many of them, we need to keep moving!”

No sooner had he said the words did Kolivan’s voice echo through their communicators. It was the first time any of them had ever heard him out of breath. “Full evacuation procedures. All units to the docking bays this is an emergency.”

“NO!” Pidge sounded from across the temple, desperation clear through the communicator. “We’re not yet done! We need more time, please we’re so close!”

“Holt this is not the time for argument.” Kolivan snapped. “Take what you want and-”

“Commander we cannot leave now!” An unfamiliar voice yelled alongside Pidge, her team just as determined as she was, but they were quickly silenced.

A deafening roar stopped everything in its tracks. Even Shiro stopped, golden eyes widening as a damaged section of the temple pulled itself out of the wall. The long, twisting body of one of the temple’s guardians charged at the Galra drones, picking apart and crushing everything and everyone in its path. The Blades were more familiar with its movements. Most got away in time, but those that didn’t met the same grisly fate as their enemies. There was no way the Galra could ignore them.

“The defense systems,” Hunk gasped. “If we activate the defense systems and they can…”

“Raise some hell.” For a second, they could almost hear Shiro smiling across the line.

“Pidge, get out of there. Lance, Hunk, with me!” For a moment, Shiro seemed like himself again, eyes narrowed as he watched the enormous mechanical spider pull itself upright. Sharp legs stomped down, piercing through Galra armor with a horrible  _crunch_  and sending the bodies of drones through the air like rag dolls. The Blades were quick in their retreat, herding their civilians down the tunnels as Shiro launched himself at the ancient guardian machine with a shout.

It turned its glassy eyes towards him, registering any being in the temple as an enemy to be purged. Shiro was counting on that as he sprinted past, back towards the breach where the Galra drones had launched their attack. The guardian spider skittered on the stones, following its prey as Hunk and Lance raced behind.

“This is crazy, he’s crazy, we’re all gonna be spider food!” Hunk wailed. “You think this is Galra brain crazy or just normal Shiro crazy?”

“He hasn’t tried to shoot  _us_  yet, so I’m going with the regular kind.” Lance huffed. “Holy shit!” They knocked sideways and hit the wall as another guardian beast pulled itself from a side tunnel, chasing after the first. “We’ve gotta make sure these things get the drones without killing us in the process. Think, Hunk!”

“Me?!” Hunk’s mind race as he wheezed for breath, too out of shape to keep running for much longer. The burst of adrenaline would only take them so far. “Wait, hang on!” There wasn’t enough time to figure out the ancient technology from a long dead species, it could take days or weeks to unravel the delicate machinery and piece together how each part fit. But there was one thing he could do. Every machine had a power source, and a power source held a lot of energy. All he had to do was redirected it into something a little more helpful.

They stumbled out into a slightly larger cavern swarming with drones and skidded to a stop. “Uh.” Lance said eloquently as Shiro didn’t miss a beat, throwing himself into the fray with the spider right behind him.

There was some screaming. Then there was a lot of screaming.

Lance threw himself behind a column and opened fire watching as Shiro reigned chaos on his enemies, always one step ahead of the temple guardian that was keen on trampling them over. It was madness, with no beginning or end, but there was one person missing from it all that

“Hunk? Hunk where are you come in!” Lance yelled in one long breath. A strong pull of emotion felt like it was tugging in his periphery, and he was seconds away from throwing himself into it. He couldn’t have lost Hunk. He couldn’t have! He was right behind him, Hunk would have said something!

Then a panicked shriek tore through the room. One of the temple guardians crashed through the wall, bucking and twisting like it was trying to get an ant off its back. That ant was Hunk, holding on for his dear life, only to tuck, drop and roll as soon as the ground stopped looking so far away. The creature slammed into the already disorganized Galra, but instead of running away, Hunk ran at it. Or rather, ran at Shiro.

Shiro stopped in mid-punch, the tattered remains of a drone still hanging on to his weaponized arm, and Hunk picked him up like a piece of luggage and ran for the exit.

“Oomf!” Shiro wasn’t as heavy as his gun and Hunk hefted him up, barely missing a step.

“Hunk! Wait, Hunk! What did you do?” Lance hesitated as Hunk raced past, screaming.

“RUN!”

That didn’t leave much room for arguing and Lance turned on his heel and raced back down the way they’d come. Behind them, the guardians roared an awful sound like a dying computer as the drones opened fire. One heartbeat. Two. Then an explosion threw them all to the ground as one of spider machines blew up in a searing fireball. Flames raced down the hall, sizzling the hair from their arms as they pressed themselves against the cool stone.

“Y-you did that?” Lance groaned, rolling up to his feet and brushing the ash from his clothes.

“Figured I could make just about anything explode.” Hunk coughed, helping Shiro stand. “Dude, it WORKED! Fried those drones like chicken.”

“What is it with humans and chicken?” Shiro murmured flatly. “And thank you.”

“Don’t mention it dude. Ever. Seriously, I want to forget all this ever happened.”  

“C’mon, back this way. The hangar bay is through here. We have to hold it long enough until the ships take off.” Lance called as Shiro lead the way.

“The explosion bought us some time.” Hunk said proudly, but Shiro shook his head, listening to the buzz of drone static from the advancing forces.

“Not enough.”

They exchanged looks, then hurried back down to the hangar. The bodies of the fallen had left untouched, but there was sweet relief when they found that the hangar had been steadily emptying. There was only one large carrier left for civilians to board; the others had already taken off. With any luck that meant they were safe.

From across the hall, one of the Blades waved at them. Jile’s face was smudged with dirt, but she’d escaped her parents once again and dragged Kolivan behind her like an overprotective guard dog. “I guess organics and robots aren’t as stupid as I thought, though they’re still not as smart as Galra.”

Lance puffed up his chest. Kolivan looked like he’d seen better days but was still standing. He took one look at them, and offered them what could have been a smile on anyone else. “You’ve fought bravely. You have our gratitude. Find your place on board. We leave as soon as possible. The Blades can handle the rest.”

A swell of pride and relief bubbled up through Hunk’s chest, but the offer hadn’t changed the faraway look in Shiro’s eyes, or brought back all his friends. “Where’s Pidge?” 

“Caltha, Grak.” Kolivan barked into his communicator. “Report.”

Pidge’s voice crackled over the device, almost drowned out by the sound of heavy gunfire. “We’re pinned down, there’s drones in corridor 9. There’s too many! We’re pushing through, don’t leave without us!”

“Acknowledged.” Kolivan watched the doorways to the hangar bay, face drawn with worry. “We need to hold this position to give them time to get through.”

Shiro took a sharp breath, entire body going ridged. He jerked towards one of the doors as his hand flared to life. “He’s coming.”

“Who’s coming? Shiro? Dude, what’s going on?” Lance raised his weapon towards the empty doorway. Something moved in the darkness, motion lost in the shadows that grew and boiled until it spilled out into the light of the hangar. Drones came screaming towards them, faces twisted in a programmed rage, an elite leading the charge. Keith snarled, violet eyes bright beneath his white hair.

Shiro moved to meet him, drawn to the flame of the elite’s command. Keith called the drones to him and even Shiro couldn’t resist. They met in a clash of sparks, metal arm against metal blade, as the drones streamed passed them.

“Don’t stop shooting!” Kolivan ordered as Lance and Hunk opened fire.

“Keith,” Shiro ground the word out around his fangs. “You have to stop this, please. I know you remember me!”

The Galra’s eyes flashed, and all at once, he pulled away, kicking Shiro in the ribs. It was not enough to put him down or to stop him, but it gave Keith enough of an opening to retreat. A dozen drones were already vying for his position. They swarmed Shiro, attacking him from all sides, each fighting to kill. As he dodged and parried, he caught a glimpse of Keith’s wicked snarl.

Shiro chased after him. Shiro would always chase after him.

“Shiro wait!” Hunk cried, trying to be heard over the sun of gunfire and crumpling metal.

“Hold the line!” Kolivan bellowed. “They will not reach the ship!”

Civilians were peeling away from the crowd, joining the fray with whatever weapon they pick off the ground and giving their places to those who couldn’t fight back. They were unprepared, they were scared. But they weren’t giving up, so Hunk planted his feet and held the _damned_ line.

Shiro never looked back. He chased Keith across the tarmac, through chaos and death. He could feel Keith, close enough that he pulsed through his mind, that same siren-sweet call that threatened to leave him undone. Shiro didn’t know if he’d already surrendered.

As a drone rushed at him, he shifted his approach, cutting through its armor with horrifying precision. Then he took its blaster and threw it as hard as he could. Keith never got any warning. It tangled in Keith’s legs, sending him to the ground with a heavy thud.

Shiro dove with him, the two struggling and scrapping. He caught an elbow to the face, pain exploding through his senses as he fought to pin Keith down. It helped to clear his thoughts, cutting through the deafening swell of voices that had drowned out everything else. “Keith,  _stop_.” He hissed, flashing his fangs.

The Galra grabbed for his blade and closed his hand around the hit, bringing it up to slash at Shiro with a snarl. Shiro’s hand closed around his wrist and yanked it away, slamming Keith’s hand against the ground over and over until he finally released his grip with a cry of pain. Shiro used his full weight to hold his captive down, claws pricking through the skin of Keith’s wrists.

“I could take your mind in a moment.” Keith spat. “You’re begging me to own you, drone.”

“Do you remember when we first me? You got me arrested, Keith.”

“That’s not my name!”

Shiro was breathing heavily, holding on to the pain. Each word was a battle, stringing coherent thoughts together enough to speak. “I pushed you away. I was too afraid to get close. There wasn’t time.”

“I don’t know you, drone. Release me!”

“I’ve never seen anyone fly my ship like you can, you were always too fast. It made you laugh. You wore my people’s shape, you touched my mind. You did all of this to help us, you have to remember.”

Shiro could feel him, pulling through his thoughts, twisting them until he could barely understand what was in his own head. It hurt, by the Light, it hurt more than anything he’d ever felt, but he couldn’t cry, not with metal for eyes.

“You love star tassels,” Shiro whispered, trying to remember their soft white petals, the silver that ran through their veins, and the way that Keith lit up when he first saw them glow, but it was like trying to catch water in his hands. “And you believe in heroes. Up until the very end, you believed in heroes.”

“You will die for this!” Keith swore. “Every single one of you!”

But his voice caught in his throat when Shiro cupped his cheek, his touch as gentle as a lover’s caress, and when Shiro leaned in, he couldn’t stop his eyes from falling shut. Their foreheads touched, a reminder from sweeter days and lost opportunities, and Keith shuddered. “You’re too late,” he whispered. “You can’t stop us now.”

There was a burst of static through Shiro’s communicator, then Kolivan’s strangled voice came in, determined until the very last. “Get every ship airborne. The Emperor’s flagship has been spotted in the system.”

A cold chill ran down Shiro’s spine. When Keith pushed him off, he crumbled, grabbing unto his skull as the voices of an army rose inside him. He didn’t get back up. 

“No!” Shiro screamed, at least he thought he was screaming, it was too loud in his head to tell. He reached out to Keith who hesitated, turning back towards him. If Keith said anything, it was lost in the noise. Then Keith was gone, racing up the hatch into one of the remaining fighter jets, firing up the engines to escape. One less ship for the Blades of Marmora to escape on.

Shiro was dying. He was already dead, his body just refused to accept it. He’d been waiting for death for so long that he’d craved the end and the peace it would bring him, a release from his pain and the weight of an entire world that he had to keep carrying. But he couldn’t lie down and rest now, not when Keith was flying into the heart of the enemy, his mind a jumble of fractured memories. Keith said he had never wanted to hurt anyone, Shiro believed every word. He couldn’t abandon Keith now.

He couldn’t die without telling Keith that he loved him.

“We have to go,  _now!_ ” Kolivan was helping him stand and he leaned heavily on the Blade as Lance shouted into the communicator.

“Pidge! We have to go, the Emperor’s in the system. Where the hell are you?”

“We’re pinned down, we can’t get through!” Her voice came back, fear crackling over the line. “I-I…we aren’t going to make it.”

“We’re not leaving them behind.” Hunk was so determined that he surprised himself. “I’m going back for her, get the ship ready to fly.”

“There’s no time!”

“I don’t care!” Hunk snapped. “We’re not losing Pidge, too!” He took one look at Shiro, still struggling to find his feet, and he looked back at his best friend. With a grim nod, he faced Kolivan. “Wait for me as long as you can. Please.”

“Wait for us. You didn’t think I’d let you have all the fun, did ya?” Lance corrected, stepping forward with his head held high. He’d gone pale beneath his tan, and he was smiling with too many teeth. They took off running before Kolivan could respond. They heard Shiro calling after them, heard Kolivan argue with him, heard him collapse.

When we come back, we’ll help him, Hunk promised himself. He saw the same determination in his best friend’s eyes. First, they were going to bring Pidge home.

“Pidge, we need your exact location!”

“This is crazy!” Pidge yelled, a tremor in her voice, but there was a new strength in it, like she’d caught her second wind. “We’re just outside the labs. Got flanked on both sides right before the fork. Grak took a hit, but the other’s - we’re still fighting. Everyone who can is still fighting.”

“Leave the comm open, we’re tracking your location.” Hunk typed out commands on his wrist display as they ran, rerouting the communication through his personal device to hone in on Pidge’s location. Lance raced beside him, picking off the few remaining drones in this passageway and leaving broken mechanical bodies scattered into pieces behind them.

A holographic map shimmered above, guiding them through the ancient twisting tunnels. The main force of the Galra had already passed through here, though they heard the skittering sound of spidery legs in the dark side tunnels, the temple’s guardians still waiting for more prey. They slid to a stop at a junction, looking around wildly.

“Pidge, we’re here. Where are you?!” Lance yelled.

“Guys, HELP!” She screamed back.

There was the muffled sound of blaster fire, but the hallways were empty. “Dude, we’re right on top of her. Where is she?” Lance peered down each passage through the scope of his weapon.

“On  _top_  of her! Lance, I could kiss you.” Hunk pointed his gun at the rock beneath their feet. Lance’s flirty reply was lost in the boom as they both shrieked, plummeting down through the hole to land in the middle of a firefight.

The Galra drones were just as surprised. Lance was just the first one to start firing. “Baby, you raise my particle barrier to new highs.”

“Guys!”

Pidge’s voice echoed in their communicator’s, a fraction of a second slower than they noticed her startled cry, and Hunk could have laughed. They’d landed right on top of her! Pidge was flanked by the other technicians, each burdened by their injured, or what they could salvage from their laboratories, but she still threw herself at them in a too tight hug. Lance laughed, ruffling her hair with so much fondness before he claimed the nearest vantage point, picking off any Galra drones that came into his sights.

“Go!” Hunk insisted. “Take your wounded and get up the upper level, the ship’s waiting.”

“We can’t, there are too many of them. They’ll just follow.” She hissed.

“Wait, wait, wait I gotta plan! We’ll keep them occupied, you go.”

She didn’t look convinced, but Gark let out a strangled sound, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to refocus his breathing. “Fine.” Pidge ground out the word through gritted. “But don’t make me come back for you two.”

The Blades climbed first, long limbs and strong arms making it look ridiculously easy. Hunk and Lance made sure that anyone who took at shot at them would immediately regret it. Pidge was among the last to go, giving them each one final stern nod before she disappeared. Lance only relaxed once she was out of sight. “Now would be a good time to hear that plan, buddy.”

Hunk pried a panel from the wall to expose power conduits embedded in the stone and whooped excitedly. “Just like those nightmare spiders! I thought there had to be some kind of continuous power source to the guardians, whoever built these temples had to compensate for years of inactivity and stored power to-“

“Hunk, bro. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh…I can do the thing I did with the spider and make it go boom?”

Lance grinned. “Okay, now that I understand. You do what you need to, I’ll keep ‘em off you!” Time for the sharpshooter to shine! You know, that wouldn’t be a bad nickname, just as cool as Champion. Lance sighted the enemy, blasting every drone that peeked out of cover. There were too many for any one person to defeat, but he kept them holed up, buying Hunk as much time as he could.

“Okay, just gotta…then cross this. Divert the power flow through here.” Hunk muttered to himself as he rewired the ancient power conduit. It was higher than he expected, and he was forced to crawl out of their hiding spot. Just a little. Just to make it count. “I think that does it, all I have to do is touch these two wires-“ 

Laser fire seared through the air, scorching stone and sending Hunk slamming into the wall. He gasped in surprise, hands pressed against his stomach.

It didn’t hurt, that was the strange part. It felt like he’d gotten the air punched from his lungs, but there was no ache, only a wetness that spread between his fingers. That was strange, why was it wet? There wasn’t a leak down here, he hadn’t been like this a moment ago. He looked at Lance who was screaming at him, but his best friend’s voice seemed so far away. Oh Light, Lance was so pretty.

Now it hurt. His cheeks were damp, why was he crying? Why did it hurt so bad, hurt with every breath like his lungs were too heavy, like they were trying to sink through his ribs. Sharp copper crawled up the back of his throat, and above Lance the air burst into color.   
  
“Go…” Hunk rasped. It hurt to talk. It shouldn’t have hurt at all. There was no time, Lance had to go! “Go it’s gonna…”  
  
Hunk never got to give his warning. The Light left his eyes before his smile could lose its warmth, and no matter how Lance screamed, it wouldn’t come back.   
  
“Hunk! Hunk no, don’t!”  
  
The Galra were approaching. Lance could hear them coming out from behind their barricades, the threat of gunfire no longer holding them back. It couldn’t end like this. It wasn’t supposed to end like this!

“No!” He begged, cradling Hunk’s face in his hands. “No no no no no. You can’t leave me, please don’t go.” Tears streaked down Lance’s cheeks and he was shocked for a moment. He’d never cried before. He’d begged Hunk to make him as human as possible, clinging to love and happiness that transcended anything his mechanical heart should have felt. He’d never experienced pain like this though. Careful hands smoothed over Hunk’s face, wiping the blood from his skin.

“I’m right here, buddy.” He whispered, pressing a kiss to his best friend’s forehead. “I’m not going anywhere. We do this together just like we do everything. I love you, I-I…” Lance swallowed and took the communicator. “Pidge, we’re not going to make it.”

“Get out of there, Lance!” Her voice came back, shrill with fear. “We’ll figure out a way to help.”

“No. We’re sealing the tunnel, you’ll be safe. Just make sure they remember Hunk was a hero, okay?”

“Lance, don’t! We’re on our way back, don’t do anything!” She yelled, but he switched off the communicator and settled in beside Lance, his body still fitting so perfectly against his like he’d been specially made for it. The drones were advancing, their position would be overrun in seconds, but Lance wasn’t afraid. He laced one hand with Hunk’s and smiled, a fragile, grief-stricken thing.

“You were the bravest out of everyone, big guy. If I’m alive enough for a soul, then I’ll find you on the other side. I promise. We’ll have our chance then, okay?” Lance closed his eyes and touched the wires together.

The explosion was enough to rock the entire temple as the tunnel collapsed.

 

* * *

 

“Lance! LANCE!”

The explosion rocked through the communicator, a deafening roar compared to the far off rumble that seemed to shake the temple. Pidge stared out of the viewscreen, her eyes meeting Shiro’s in its reflection. Nothing moved.

“Champion.” Kolivan started, but there was a softness to his voice that none of them had ever heard before. He and his people towered over them, making the bridge of the Freedom laughably claustrophobic. No one was laughing now. “We have to go.”

“They said to leave them behind.” Pidge whispered like she wanted to argue, but there was no one who’d take up battle. “They said they’d be back.”

The Freedom’s engine sputtered and rumbled, coming to life with a pained groan. The long vines and winding branches that twined through metal, making up the walls and ground of the Koryu ship, had gone a dull grey. It seemed to have aged ten years overnight, falling apart at its seams. Gaping holes were left everywhere Pidge had sacrificed its parts to her makeshift lab. It was a wreck, but it was the last functioning ship on the tarmac. Everything else had already departed or perished in the firefight.

“The hyperspace drive isn’t responding.” Shiro said, too tired to mask his grief, letting the implication wash over them all. The ship’s radar hummed with warning, growing shriller and shriller as a dark shadow filled the horizon. Their enemies wouldn’t stop coming.

They weren’t going to get out of this. There wouldn’t be any escape, no last minute miracle that would save them. They’d run from one end of the galaxy to the other, and their luck had finally run out. Shiro closed his eyes to the sound of Pidge’s quiet, choking sobs. He was supposed to protect them and he’d let them down. This war had been too dangerous, he’d known that from the start. There was never a way to keep them safe, and he’d still let them come, pledging themselves to be heroes to a lost cause.

Hunk never knew how brave he really was or how his hope had lit the way in the dark. Lance had learned to think beyond himself, caring about others and more human than most. He’d never get to experience that journey.

“Champion.” Kolivan’s voice was soft. “They bought us a chance, honor their sacrifice.”

Shiro looked at his crew, broken and exhausted, and nodded. “Pidge, you said you needed access to the Galra network to make your virus work? Then I’ll get you access. I…it’s been an honor to have friends like you.”

Pidge lifted her head, wiping tears from her face and clutched her wrist device to her chest. “I’m ready, Shiro. We all are. You get me close enough and I’ll end this.”

They weren’t going to get out of this, but maybe they could change the end.

“Alright. Everybody strap in, this is going to be rough.” Shiro turned back to his controls and poured himself into the link with his ship, coaxing the Freedom back to life. He was surprised there was still enough of him alive to connect with the ship, but it reached out to him with a familiar bond.  _One more flight, one more and we’re done. I need you to try one more time_. _For our friends._ The engines sputtered and caught as the ship lifted slowly into the air and streaked up through the atmosphere.

They left the temple behind them, the home of the Blades left in tatters, destroyed by a battle they’d spent so long trying to avoid. Kolivan sent it one final look, whispering a prayer from a long dead language, but Shiro kept his attention focused up ahead, to where a dark shadow filled the skies. The flagship of the Galra Empire, the most powerful armada left in the galaxy. They dwarfed the Freedom a thousand times over. One stray canon blast and it would all end.

Shiro didn’t come this far to lose it all to an accident.

He pushed the Freedom’s engines, wringing every ounce of speed he could out of the best his home could offer. This was for Hunk, and for Lance, and all the soldiers who had no one left to remember them. This was for shattered worlds and scars burned into starlight. This was for Koryu. And this was for Keith.

This was for all of them.

The Freedom sped between the gaps in the ship’s sensors, too small and too fast to catch. Shiro’s knuckles were white around his steering wheel, his teeth gritted so tightly his jaws ached. Around them, the ship’s walls started to shake. Then they crashed, hulls tearing apart, nothing but willpower holding the Freedom together until the bitter end.

Shiro woke up with the taste of blood in his mouth. No, it was something more metallic, acrid. He groaned and unhooked his crash webbing, tumbling out of seat. The Freedom had splintered, the last of its quintessence burned into nothing. He shuddered as he felt it die around him, the last piece of Koryu left in the whole galaxy. It was sad that he would never have a chance to mourn its passage.

He scrambled towards the massive hole torn in the side of the ship, the others staggering out with him. They’d survived, that was what mattered now. The Freedom had crashed through the hull of Zarkon’s flagship, its advanced Galra tech sealing the breach behind them. They were in the heart of the enemy, only one way to go.

“Everyone okay?” He croaked, wrapping an arm around Pidge to help her stand.

It wasn’t Pidge who answered. Keith stood at the head of the massing drones who’d rushed to meet the intruders, weapons drawn on the battered crew. “Following me here was a mistake.”

 

* * *

 

_–Recovery Complete: Play Transmission?—_

_[Begin Playback]_

Shiro folded his hands in his lap and smiled at the camera. There were more scars in his skin. The infection had taken his right arm entirely. He took a breath and held it, trying to find the right words.

“I stopped recording things years ago. There wasn’t a point to it. No one would ever see these, but I thought maybe I should start again. At least one more. For you, Ryou.” Shiro’s voice cracked over his brother’s name and his composure broke. He had to take a moment to compose himself, ears twitching in agitation.

“I tried, I really did. You gave me a chance to live when you didn’t have one, and I tried to make you proud. I kept fighting, I saved people. I defended the innocent, I tried to help. It’s been ten years! I carried the memories of Koryu for as long as I could, but they’re heavy, Ryou. A whole world, everything we were, I’ve tried. As long as I live then a part of it lives too, but it’s crushing me.”

He leaned back in his chair and scrubbed his hands over his face with a sigh. “Sometimes, I wish you hadn’t saved me. You were the lucky ones.”

Shiro was silent as he looked down at his hands, flexing the infected fist and watching the glowing quintessence respond. “I have to finish this one last mission, I won’t let them down. It’ll be an easy one, just pick up a message and deliver it, then I can end it. I’m sorry I’m giving up, I don’t have anything left to give. I know I’m letting you down, but maybe you’ll forgive me when we see each other again. I hope so.”

The console beeped to indicate they’d arrived at their destination, and Shiro gave the camera one last brittle smile. “WSP-86, the middle of nowhere. It’s as good a place as any for it to end.”

[End Playback]

 


	18. Chapter 18

“Keith.”

The word slipped from Shiro’s lips in a breath. And then he was moving, stumbling forward without thinking. He was blind to the wreckage of his ship behind him or the guns of the Galra drones surrounding him. He ignored everything but the irresistible draw, the need to close the distance between them and pulled Keith into his arms.

The elite resisted for a moment, jerking back from the touch before surrendering to it. Shiro rested his head on Keith’s shoulder, breathing in the scent of him. He memorized the beat of his heart and the tense energy that hummed through every line of Keith’s body. Pain thundered through him, the voices rising until Shiro thought he might be screaming along with them, but he refused to let go.

“You shouldn’t have followed me here.” Keith repeated, but this time, his voice was gentle. Careful arms closed around Shiro and he returned the embrace, holding Shiro as the Captain shuddered.

“I wasn’t going to leave you, I promised.” Shiro murmured. “I knew you’d remember, I wasn’t going to let them take you away. You’re my partner.” More than that. There weren’t words in this stupid limited language to explain what Keith was to him. A home for a man who’d lost his, a beating heart for someone who’d thought he was already dead. A challenger, a friend, the reason he looked into the future and prayed for more days, more  _minutes_ , that he could have with Keith instead of opening his arms to welcome the end. Shiro held hope in his hands and he would never let go.

Keith gave a strangled groan, fisting his hands in Shiro’s shirt. “I’m not him. You don’t even know who I am or what I’ve done, Shiro.”

“You remember my name.” It was pathetic, but Shiro didn’t care, not when it almost felt like Keith was coming home. He could feel him hesitate, feel him reach out.

Then there was a crash, the sharp stench of burning ozone after a laser blast, and Shio turned just as one of the Galra drones fell. Pidge was holding an activated blaster. Keith’s grip tightened around him, tight enough to hurt.

“Kill them.”

“Keith!”

All around them the drones surged forward, guns blazing, and the Blade of Marmora scattered. Shiro struggled, trying to get free. They needed help. There were too many of them! But Keith’s hold was true. Slowly, gently, he cupped Shiro’s cheek, trapping him in place and molding him against his body. His eyes were dancing with golden light, and he reached up, touching their foreheads together.

“Let them go.” The order was firm and unflinching, and it twisted something inside of Shiro that left his knees buckling. Keith ran his fingers through his hair, slowly tracing down his eyes. It wasn’t fair that it was so familiar. It wasn’t fair that Keith could remember this when everything else fell apart, but there was a frayed edge that underscored Keith’s words, a breathless desperation that made him push harder. “I won’t hurt you. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I can protect you if you just stop fighting.”

He was there again, that same undeniable force that had turned Shiro inside out and taken him apart, lingering just on the edges of the Koryu’s mind, but Keith was still asking. Still  _hoping._  

“Let me keep you.”

“No.” Shiro tried to resist falling into those golden eyes, but his strength crumbled. He was so tired, all he wanted to do surrender in Keith’s arms as the battle raged around them. Soft lips brushed against his own, coaxing his apart to taste him and swallowed down his weakening protests. The sounds of fighting died away as Keith filled Shiro’s senses, need flaring in his chest and igniting his bones.

 _Home_.

It left Shiro’s head whirling, thoughts too incoherent to grasp. He’d been so ready for the end, but he could find it here beside Keith. There wouldn’t be any more pain or loneliness, he’d be safe. The promises touched the deafened parts of his mind, still raw from the screaming of the drones, and Shiro shuddered. His fight was over, it was time to finally rest.

A sharp shrill scream cut through the hazy thoughts, Pidge’s voice ragged as she yelled his name. Not like this. He wasn’t meant for peace, there’d be no home waiting for him when this was over. The pain had become too much a part of what he’d become and he’d carried it all in the hope that no one else would have to. After so long, Shiro couldn’t give up now.

“RUN!” He tore himself out of Keith’s embrace and snarled around a mouth full of fangs. Clawed hands scribed with infected quintessence made quick work of the closest drones as Keith stumbled back in surprise. “Get to the control room, go! You can do this!”

Pidge looked like she wanted to argue, too many people had died to get her this close and she couldn’t lose one more. Kolivan didn’t hesitate and grabbed Pidge, backing her towards the exit as the drones closed ranks around them.

The drones made to chase down their objective, but Shiro cut them down before they could, blasting through their ranks and turning himself into the bigger target. He knew how they worked now.

“What are you doing!?”

The heat in Keith’s voice burned through Shiro’s mind, and Shiro stumbled into the path of fire. A laser blast took him in the shoulder, leaving breathless in agony, and suddenly Keith was screaming. There was a flash of gold, the crackle of metal, and suddenly Keith had brought every drone to yield, an insurmountable force. Shiro backed away slowly, the quintessence that powered his body still pulsating and strong. Keith would not back down.

“I have given you multiple chances, and you continue to defy me.” The Galra snarled. Shiro felt his stance weakening, without even an order. Keith was a force all his own, and Shiro had always wanted to surrender. “I will take you apart piece by piece, and then you will hunt down every traitor you’ve brought aboard the Emperor’s ship and execute every last one.”

“You won’t.” Shiro resisted until the very end, but he never raised his hand against Keith. That didn’t stop the Galra from closing the distance between them. Keith knotted his fingers into Shiro’s hair and dragged him down, lips curled cruelly.

“You’re doubting my power? You’re the one who can barely stand, I could tear you apart without lifting a finger.”

“You could have done that at any time, but you didn’t. You remember me.” Even as Keith twisted his hand tighter, Shiro smiled and caressed shaky metal fingers down the side of Keith’s face.

“You’re an idiot!”

“Maybe. But I had to tell you, Keith. I had to actually say it before I die, I couldn’t leave you until I did. I-”

“NO!” Keith shoved him away and sent Shiro stumbling back. The Galra’s eyes were wild and panicked, his hand grasping for the hilt of his blade. Shiro overbalanced and fell, bracing his hands on the cold floor panels as he struggled to breathe with his metal lungs. He coughed hard, pieces rattling inside like shrapnel.

“Keith, I-”

“I said  _no_!” Keith yanked his blade free and brought its edge to rest on Shiro’s racing pulse, splitting the skin in a thin bloody line. “Don’t you dare say it, you don’t get to. I’m not who you want me to be, Keith never existed. I’m not him, you don’t-…you can’t…”

“I don’t think that’s true.”  
  
Keith let out a ragged exhale, flinching like Shiro had lashed out, but Shiro never knew how to back down from a fight.   
  
“You never wanted to hurt anyone.” Shiro whispered. “You still don’t… Hunk and Lance are gone now. They gave everything to let us get this far.”  
  
“No.” It was a strangled, hopeless little thing, and Keith didn’t even realize he’d spoken. Shiro didn’t know why that hurt so much.   
  
“Pidge… Pidge thinks she can fix this. Fix it for everyone else. I want that. I… I don’t think we’re getting out of this alive, but I still want that. I think you do too. That was real.”

“You don’t know that.” The bravado was gone and Keith’s shoulders rounded. “I know who I am. I’m Galra.”

“You’re Keith too.” Shiro reached out and pressed the palm of his hand against Keith’s chest. “Whatever else you are, I’ve touched your mind. I’ve felt what you’ve felt, I know your heart. None of what we had was a lie and you know it.”

“Shiro.” Keith broke over the name, word more of a sob than anything as Shiro wrapped his arms around him. “Everything I’ve done-“

“What you did was risk everything to find out what that weapon inside of you meant. You did it to help us make sure no one would ever use it because you believed in helping people.” Shiro tipped Keith’s face up, gently wiping a thumb beneath his eye to catch one hot tear. “You’ve always been a hero.”

“I’ve been a traitor. I betrayed my own people and I turned on you too.” Keith choked. Now it was his turn to surrender, yielding willingly to the Koryu’s touch. Shiro had held him like this before, happier times when they’d looked to the future and for once, had been hopeful with the dwindling time they had left. Keith had laughed then, tired with his hair tousled, flushed from fucking and so beautiful that Shiro wished he could still cry.

“You took Project Zero, didn’t you?” he asked as Keith nodded.

“They didn’t realize how dangerous it really was.”

“Always trying to help people, that part of you never really changes.” He bent slightly to brush his lips against Keith’s, sharing a smile between them. “Hunk and Lance believed in being heroes, Pidge does too. And I believe in you. I’m so sorry, I wish we had more time. I…we’re not going to make it out of this one, baby. But we can make it count.”

He could feel Keith reaching out to him, but it was more restrained now, more controlled. There was a different edge to their connection, like hearing someone speak a different dialect of your mother tongue, but Shiro could make them fit together, or he would hold on until it didn’t matter. A sharp, visceral stab of pain came through the connection, knocking against Shiro’s teeth. It built from inside his chest, left the metal in his skeleton grinding against itself. It hurt, by the Light why did it hurt so much?

“Shiro-"

"Keith no.”

When Keith tried to pull away, Shiro held him close. He wasn’t strong enough to keep him, but Keith stayed tucked against him anyway. With infinite care, Shiro reached up, his touch ghosting across Keith’s chest where the metal burned so brightly, it was as if he was running a fever. Project Zero.

No, they weren’t going to come out of this at all.

“I wish we could have had that garden.” Keith spoke almost too softly to be heard, a ripple in the stormy seas that threatened to swallow Shiro whole. Shiro breathed deeply, trying to force back the noise as the machine in his mind continued spinning, and Keith traced the curve of his cheek, like Shiro could still cry.

“Yeah. Me too.”

They were almost out of time.

Shiro pulled Keith to his feet. They ran. Footsteps followed in their wake, but an instant before the sound could register, Shiro felt the pull of their force in the corners of his mind. He knew they were being followed by the drones. This time, Keith’s army would fight for them.

“They’re headed to the control room, but we’ll catch up.” Keith said. They wouldn’t have to fight anyone. The battle had already run. They passed through its carnage. Dismembered drones were strewn across the floor, but every other step were the bodies of the few allies they’d brought with them. Shiro tried not to seek out every one, tried not to look for a mop of mousy brown hair, tried not to think of the worst. Most of the time he failed. When he succeeded, it was because the thoughts of others in his head were too loud.

They followed the path of broken bodies and Shiro tried to remember their names, Caltha, Antok, the few who’d escaped with them. There wouldn’t be time to grieve, Shiro hoped that there would be someone out there who would mourn for them and write their lives into skin. As long as there was someone who remembered them, they would never truly be gone. Hunk and Lance would live on in the hearts of the Balmerans, the Blades would honor their fallen. The scattered remains of the Resistance would celebrate the Holts and their bravery.

No one would remember the Koryu or a rogue Galra hiding from his people. Shiro had carried those memories as far as he could, but it was time to let them fade. If they could make sure that the others’ stories were carried by their people, then it was worth it.

Keith’s hand was in his and Shiro could feel his heart struggle to beat in the same rhythm. Yeah, it was worth it.

They burst into the control room and found themselves on the wrong end of a blaster rifle. Pidge hunched down by the central console, Kolivan bleeding at her feet. Around them, drones lay scattered, destroyed at the end of Kolivan’s blade though at a cost. “Don’t make me kill you!” Pidge said through clenched teeth, gun shaking in her hands as she aimed at Keith’s chest.

“Pidge, it’s okay. He remembers, he’s here to help us.” Shiro raised his hands and Keith did the same. Keith’s drones waited for orders, not making any move to attack.

Keith looked uncomfortable, pain and regret and a thousand apologies that would change nothing crowded his mouth. “I know the ship’s systems, I can help you upload the virus. We’re a team, I meant that.”

Pidge let the rifle drop with a sob as Keith hugged her tight, letting those useless apologies fly free as she wiped tears and blood from her cheeks and turned to the console. Shiro knelt by Kolivan’s side, trying to help staunch the bleeding as the Quvari and the Galra worked in tandem.

“I can upload it, but it’s not tested. There wasn’t time, we needed more time.” She took a shuddering breath and tried to focus on the blur of code on the monitors in front of her. “We have to broadcast the code and make sure it binds to the Galra programming. I-I think…it has to work. It has to.”

“It’s going to work.” Keith said quietly. “We can do this.”

She nodded, hands flying over the controls.

“Remember your promise to my people.” Kolivan rasped, reaching out towards Pidge before the light behind his eyes faded. With a rattling breath, he lay still in Shiro’s arms. Another broken soldier joining his fallen brethren. 

Carefully, Shiro closed his eyes. Then he picked up Kolivan’s sword and turned to face the door, standing behind row after row of drone like he was their equal, but he was determined to protect Keith and Pidge for as long as he had time. Only the survivors would have time to mourn.

He caught Keith’s eye over his shoulder, and something in the Galra’s expression made his chest twinge.

“This was how you saw it?” Shiro asked softly. In another life, in another time. If they weren’t fighting by Pidge’s side, but standing against her, Shiro as his lover’s esteemed Captain, fondly protected and bound to his service for the eternity of the Galra empire. He’d seen snippets of it, in Keith’s mind, the easier decision, and the look on his face said enough.

“It seemed alright, as long as I was with you.”

“A damaged drone was enough to bring you to your knees.”

An insidious whisper cut through the air. All at once, everything stopped, every one of them pointedly aware of the emptiness of their trappings. Then Pidge started typing, trying to push herself faster, as if there was any way to escape. The grind of damaged machinery creaked and echoed through the dim, disfigured drones forced to move broken bone and tattered flesh around metal skeletons, their voices left rough through broken necks.

“Once a traitor, always a traitor.”

The voice laughed, echoing from the dead mouths of broken drones. Shiro could feel it bubbling in the back of his own throat, body fighting to let the signal broadcast through him. Kolivan’s body twitched, eyes flaring back to life as it hauled itself onto wobbly legs, movements stilted and jerky like a puppet.

“Work faster.” Shiro warned his friends as he let his arm blaze violet, heating the sword in his fist until it glowed.

The puppet master could even take an elite without a struggle, binding the dead form to his will. Kolivan’s face stretched into a horrible smile as he lurched forward, ignoring everyone but Keith. “I should have picked someone stronger. I put such great trust in you and the Paladin poisoned you against me, against your own people!”

“I was trying to save them all!” Keith protested.

“By stealing their greatest hope for peace? The one chance we have at bringing enlightenment to an entire galaxy?” The voice rasped from Kolivan’s throat. The broken drones chattered with laughter, the one voice multiplied. “You betrayed us all.”

Keith seemed paralyzed, but Shiro barreled into Kolivan’s corpse, sending it crashing into the wall. “Like I said, work  _faster!”_

“I’m trying, Shiro. It’s not working right!” Pidge was frantic, hands moving like a blur across the keyboard. “There’s something I’m missing, some reason it’s not adapted to the Galra code. I studied Lance, the Blades helped. I thought we’d gotten past this, what am I missing?!”

Metal ground against bone as Kolivan pulled himself to his feet again. The puppet master ignored the broken bones and the way his limbs moved liquid loose as he turned Kolivan against Shiro with a mocking laugh. The corpse danced under the control of its master, but it lacked the grace and skill of Kolivan. Shiro parried its strikes before bringing the sword down with all of his strength, sheering through Kolivan’s body with a screech of metal.

The corpse dropped, the connection to its master severed.

“Holy shit.” Pidge whispered, but her eyes were glued to the screen and not the carnage behind her. “It’s quintessence. That’s why it never worked, it needs quintessence.” She looked at Keith, eyes wild and fever bright, the shocked understanding a bunch to the chest. “I made it for Galra code, but _they’re not Galra._  How’s this even possible, I’ve never seen active code like this. I think it-”

Pidge froze, her delight melting into confusion, then pain. Blood bloomed from the whole where her ribs used to be.

Keith screamed, even as he felt the exact moment, down to the millisecond that another mind started pushing against his own thoughts. Shiro was already moving, tearing apart the disfigured bodies that wouldn’t stay dead. Limbs struggled to rearrange themselves, drones dancing like marionettes on uneven strings as they fought to obey. They lacked grace and coordination, but they didn’t need them to use the weapons that killed them against new enemies. The drones under Keith’s command rose up to defend their commander.

Pidge was dead before she hit the console.

All around them, the battle raged on, but Keith cradled Pidge in his arms. Her glasses were askew and flecked with blood, and Keith had never felt so cold. I’m sorry, he thought, laying her to the ground without the respect she deserved. I’m sorry, he prayed as he commanded an army to tear the world to shreds, destroying everything that could hurt his family. I’m sorry, Keith whispered, one last time, and the door of the control room opened.

The Emperor was here.

“Enough games.” Two words were enough to sever Keith’s control, sending his army crashing to the ground. Shiro moved to attack, but a flick of Zarkon’s fingers brought him up short, muscles twisting in agony until he dropped the sword. “I’ve let you have your fun, but your insubordination grows tiresome.”

Shiro struggled against the control, dark tendrils of Zarkon’s power taking him apart with ease. There was no resisting, no fighting. He could hear Keith’s voice yelling his name and a blur of motion as his partner raced to his side, but everything was lost to the surge of voices inside his head. It filled his lungs as he gasped for one more moment, just one more. “Keith, I lo-” It was too late and the confession died along with Shirogane Takashi.

“NO!” Keith grabbed for Shiro, dragging the unresisting drone into his arms as he screamed his pain. Nothing had changed from one moment to the next, Shiro looked just the same. He was calm, waiting patiently, the same curve to his mouth, the same warmth to his skin, but he was gone. A shell that wore Shiro’s face with nothing inside. “I’m sorry.” Keith sobbed, cupping Shiro’s face. “I love you too. Do you hear me, Shiro? I love you too, please don’t go.”

“You always were weak. It was a mistake to give you command of Project Zero, I put too must trust in you. It’s unsurprising that the Paladin was able to manipulate you against us.” Zarkon stepped closer and Keith could feel the force of his command crackling through the air. Even an elite was not immune to the central power of the Galra mind. “I did you a favor, boy. A second chance. If you prove your loyalty to us now, I may let you keep your drone friend. It’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”

His friends had given everything to get here, he wouldn’t let their sacrifices becoming meaningless. They hoped against the impossible and they believed in the best of people, even though they kept seeing the ugliness on both sides. They tried to find a better way to end a war and died for ideals that Keith had always tried to live by. Heroes were real.

Keith whirled, grabbing a blaster from a fallen drone and firing a blast. Zarkon flinched, but it was Shiro who fell, smoke curling from the hole through his skull.

“You’d kill your own servant?” Zarkon laughed. “You’re cruel enough to still be Galra.”

“I set him free.”

He wanted to gather Shiro in his arms and wail, holding on as the last of his warmth slipped away, but there wasn’t time. They never had enough time for anything. At least Shiro wouldn’t be forced into some half-life as his greatest nightmare, he could find his peace and finally stop fighting.

None of this was what Keith wanted, but the Emperor knew that with perfect clarity. The Emperor knew everything.

“I tried to save all of you.” Keith rasp again, his voice an uneven snarl, choked with too much emotion. One by one he’d lost his family, and with nothing to anchor him, Keith wasn’t sure his feet still touched the ground. “It’s too powerful. It’s not what you think it is, and you’d make us all pay for your arrogance!”

A ripple of tension coursed through his thoughts, bleeding in through minds that were not his own. It was not unlike a sigh, a quiet acceptance, a solemn surety.

“Then you will die with the other traitors.”

Keith’s heart stopped. The Emperor’s will was true. Death would be mercy.

There was nothing left for him now, but there might still be something left for the galaxy.

With every ounce of strength he had left, Keith turned towards the console.

Somewhere out there, Shiro had found his garden with the ghost of a long-dead world. Keith hoped that he’d earned a chance to find him there, beneath a tree with swaying pink blooms and a still pond and a shimmering sky.  _I’ll be there soon._  He promised.

“What are you doing?” Zarkon yelled, but for all his power, the Emperor was too slow.

Keith reached into his chest and held the glowing superweapon, linking Project Zero to the Galra mainframe. The virus had failed again, their last chance to save everyone, but there was one last card to play. Power surged through him, burning his circuitry. They had no idea what kind of weapon they had built, playing with ancient technologies from a dead race with the arrogance to think they could control it. Project Zero could break the universe in their selfish attempt to infect the organics, but they’d all been so blind to the risks.

They should have listened. At least now, he could end it for good.

The power burst from him in a blinding flash, swallowing the universe in white. And then nothingness.

 

* * *

 

_–Saved File: Retrieve Record —_

_[Begin Record]_

“Hi Keith. Surprise?”

Shiro was in the machine room. Over his shoulder flowed a rich pool of quintessence, back when the Freedom was still strong enough to have one. His hair was tousled and clothes ruffled, and a dark blush covered his cheeks. The infection hadn’t spread beyond his shoulder yet. His eyes were as brown as the day they’d met. They crinkled when he smiled.

“I’ve known for a while now that you found these old things. Don’t worry, I’m not mad or anything. There’s just a lot on these files that… it gets hard to watch in some places. But I guess you already know that.” Shiro looked down, squeezing his eyes shut. It was as if he was catching his breath, trying to get his thoughts in order. “There’s a lot on here that I wish I could tell you myself. You deserve to know, and- and I want you to know. There’s a lot I wish I could share with you. Maybe someday I will. I want that chance.”

Shiro exhaled raggedly, ringing his hands together like he was on his first date, his ears twitching so badly they’d gone fluffy around the edges.

“I just wanted to say… thank you. Before I met you I was in a bad place, a place I didn’t want to be, and I didn’t think I could ever get out of it. Meeting you has made me want to keep trying, and all I want is another minute, another second just. Just to be with you.” He was too earnest, too hopeful, and Shiro couldn’t seem to stop smiling. “I owe you more than I can ever say. And maybe someday, someday soon, I’ll work up the courage to tell you that I love you.”

_[End Record]_


	19. Chapter 19

There was nothing. Then there was Light.

Keith sat up with a gasp. His hands clutched at his chest, but the burn from Project Zero was gone. Everything was gone.

A cool breeze brushed his cheek, carrying an early morning chill. It was clean and fresh, not stale recycled air from a warship. Keith breathed in deeply, filling his lungs as he ran his hands through the soft, pale blades of grass around him. He slowly pushed himself to his feet and looked around, eyes wide in wonder at the garden that bloomed around him.

It looked like the inside of the Freedom, but bigger than their small ship. Shiro’s vision made real. Tall flowers bloomed overhead, their glow bright enough to illuminate the stone paths that wound through the garden. Jewel colored birds flew from blossom to blossom in bright flashes.

Was this death? It must have been, though Keith didn’t think he’d done anything to deserve a paradise. He reached out his hand to steady himself, fingers digging into rough bark and looked up at a tree in full bloom. Long tendrils draped down from bending branches, pink flowers trailing down to a small pond nearby, their rounded petals tumbling into the water. He’d seen this before,  _exactly_ this. He pushed himself away from the tree to get a better look at the sky, shimmering above him like it was encased in an iridescent bubble.

It was beautiful. 

His knees buckled, the breath punched from his lungs so quickly it left him reeling. Heat pooled behind his eyes, the fear and grief of everything that had come to pass finally catching up with him, but it was over. It was all over. Project Zero had ended everything.

Keith collapsed by the shore, cupping his hands in the shimmering waters of the pond. It was so clear he could see even the tiniest stones that glittered at the bottom in shades of orange and peach and marble white. Little fish shaped like balls of fuzz swam and bobbed. Keith swore he’d seen their cousins in the tiny biomes of the Freedom’s medical bay. Keith drank his fill, and scrubbed his hands across his face like he could force back the sobs that rattled in his chest because if this was the end then maybe, maybe he wasn’t alone.

Then someone gasped.

Keith looked up to find a pair of bright brown eyes peering up at him out of a little girl’s sunburnt face. Her ears twitched nervously, the muddy slug-like thing between her hands all but forgotten.

She screamed.

Keith screamed right back!

The little girl tipped her head back and wailed, tears rolling down her face as Keith scrambled. His foot caught on a stone and he lost his balance, crashing straight into the pond and sending lazy fish racing for cover. He came up with a gasp, splashing as he tried to right himself. The water was freezing cold and Keith floundered.

A man raced down the path and scooped the little girl up into his arms, trying to hush her as she clung this his neck and hiccupped, crying too hard to breathe. He was another Koryu, the furry ears poked out of the man’s ruffled hair and one had a bent tip, slightly crooked. A stray thought crossed Keith’s mind. He’d seen that before, there was something so familiar… He didn’t get a chance to figure it out before the man had turned to him and froze, horror clear across his face.

“It’s okay, everyone’s okay.” Keith slogged up to his feet and held out his hands as the man bared his fangs and backed away with his daughter. Sharp words hung in the air between them, but Keith had no idea what the man said. “I don’t understand-”

Another snarl and a string of unintelligible syllables, then the man was gone, yelling at the top of his lungs for help. Keith was left with his arm outstretched, water dripping from the ends of his white hair. What was happening? He looked at his reflection in the rippling water of the pond, the distorted image of a Galra elite staring back at him.

Keith froze.

His mind was spinning. He didn’t know where he was, and he didn’t know how he’d dreamed himself there. Even as his thoughts screamed of miracles and his heart ached for the impossible, all he was sure of was that he was in unfamiliar territory and sticking out like a sore thumb. As quickly as he could manage, Keith fled the scene, his features shifting into a form that had felt more familiar than his own up until everything had gone to hell. His ears shifted and curved, the white in his hair fading away with the play of robotics and quintessence. There was still something about being Koryu that made him breathe easy.

He slipped away just as the sound of approaching voices reached his ear, and Keith had no way of knowing for sure, but he was pretty sure that he’d just escaped getting arrested.

He ran down winding paths, past public vegetable gardens where old women covered in elaborate tattoos from head to foot tended rows of strange plants. On a nearby hill, another group of Koryu napped in a relaxed heap, sprawled comfortably together in a warm patch of light without caring they were in public. Children chased after a small flying robot, its propellers whirring as they laughed and chattered in their foreign tongue.

It seemed almost too peaceful. This was a dead world, these people were ghosts. Koryusai had been wiped from existence at the hands of the Galra. This all had to be one last gasping dream in the moments between life and death. Yet it felt almost real, down to each wet squish of his boots as he ran. Keith reached the edge of the park and slid to a stop, looking out at the city with a gasp.

Buildings seemed to grow from the earth like plants, living architecture that shocked him down to his core. No wonder the Galra had been drawn here, the Galactic Coalition had outlawed this technology centuries ago. Vehicles soared through the sky in ordered lanes, multicolored glass caught the lights from tumbling fountains. Gardens clung vertically to the sides of building in a riot of color while arching latticework curved gracefully over open plazas and small shops where people gathered for their morning meal. Holographic sculptures flickered and shifted in dizzying shapes, interacting with anyone who stopped to play. Faint music echoed from the distance, the sound of clear pipes and synthesized harmony swallowed by the swell of voices. The whole city felt alive. Above them, some kind of barrier surrounded the city in a dome, anything beyond it obscured by the shimmer.

It was gorgeous, but death was a lot colder and soggier than anyone had ever warned him about.

He kept his head held high, his expression a careful mask of indifference, even as he dripped puddles in his wake and his mind spun in confusion. There was something amiss. Very tentatively, Keith tried to access the Galra hive mind, preparing to shield his own thoughts once contact breached, but there was nothing. Keith froze in the middle of the street, too shocked to react. It felt like he was walking in the dark, and every connection was as distant as the stars.

He’d never been detached from it, at least, not once he remembered who he was. It wasn’t impossible. The Blade of Marmora survived in its absence. Keith didn’t  _need_ it. He was no drone, not a servant to the directives of the hive, but it was like opening a door only to find a wall behind it.

 “Aeero m'dia?”

The question seemed almost polite, and Keith startled to find a grey-eyed Koryu with bronze hair approaching him. Keith struggled to appear at ease, managing a smile, only to have the Koryu reach out and immediately freeze. His calico colored ears perked up like they were trying to jump off his head, then he turned around and walked away.

Keith hunched his shoulders and turned, back-peddling the way he’d come only to bump into a young woman, a whirling tattoo delicately tracing along the bones of her cheek. Her eyes widened and she jerked away from him, hurrying on her way with a worried glance back. Somehow they could tell, Keith convinced himself. Damn it, he didn’t know anything about these people beyond what little Shiro had shared. He’d been so private about his home, the pain too great to talk about when his walls had come down.

 _Shiro_.

The screaming loss inside of him was overwhelming and Keith squeezed his eyes shut as if felt like his bones would shatter under the weight. He could still see Shiro’s glowing eyes and the moment the man he loved had died behind them. He’d set Shiro free in a spray of blood across his Emperor’s deck because death was better than enslavement. It had to have been.

Oh Light, it had all been for nothing. The sacrifices, the pain, the grief, Shiro’s unseeing gaze that held him locked in place. They’d lost everything and everyone along the way and for what? In the end, the Galra had won. He should have been proud, they were his people, but he’d had his eyes opened to their cruelty. Everyone he’d ever loved had died and he was…

“Shiro.” How could all of this be here without him? If he dreamed Koryusai was alive, then where was the one person who mattered most? He should be here! He grabbed a thin, nervous looking man with greying ears. “I need to find Shiro!”

The man looked like he was in pain, trying to squirm his way out of Keith’s touch like it burned, hissing a string of words. “Shiro!” He said, gesturing around.

“Shiro?”

“SHIRO!” The Koryu gestured more aggressively, rubbing his hands along the side of his head and up to his pointed ears, but no, he didn’t understand. Keith could see he didn’t understand, and it was so painfully frustrating it felt like his heart was going to burst.

“No, Shiro. Shiro! I need to find Shi-”

Then there was a sharp thwack at the back of his skull, and he collapsed. He was unconscious before the ground could meet him.

 

* * *

 

When Keith woke, everything was white.

He was in a soft bed, and wrapped in warm sheets that smelled faintly like berries. His shoes were gone, but his ears felt especially sensitive along their curve. Instinctively, he turned into his pillow, trying to smooth them against the cool cloth.

A homely looking Koryu came in, dressed in a form fitting coat that reached his knees, a silver tube hanging around his neck. He said something, speaking slowly and enunciating every syllable. Keith would have been insulted at being patronized, if he had the capacity to feel anything more than his relief. “Do you know Shiro?”

The stranger looked at him with a small smile, then stopped to say something to the woman at the doorway, and all at once, Keith couldn’t breathe.

“Captain Hiratoshi?”

It looked like she’d stepped right out of the recordings he’d smuggled from the Freedom, painstakingly decoding in secret to catch glimpses of Shiro’s life. She had the same no-nonsense frown, the same lines around her eyes, the same hard look that pinned him to his seat once they’d settled on him. She spoke briskly with the man in white, the two brushing hands as they talked before she turned her attention back to him.

Keith felt like he’d been caught breaking some rule.

“You speak Balmeran.” It was more a statement than a question, the words lightly accented. She waited for him to explain and Keith felt himself trip over his tongue.

“I-I, I need to find Shiro, Captain!”

One of her ears twitched in irritation as she spoke to him in that unintelligible language before switching back to Balmeran. “You don’t understand our language. Who  _are_  you?”

Keith knew he was in trouble, his disguise only applied to the outside and there was no way to wiggle his way out of the lie. The Galra should have recorded the language in their database, but he couldn’t reach their connection and his universal translator had never been able to understand the Koryu. He swallowed hard. “I’ll explain, but only to Shiro.”

“You’re in Shiro. The whole city is Shiro. I found you yelling incoherently about the city and brought you here for a public safety review. I thought you were sick, but that’s not the truth, is it?” Captain Hiratoshi said flatly. “So talk.”

“No, it was his name! I need to find him, I have critical information for your mission. Please, I need your help and I promise I’ll give you everything you want to know.”

She didn’t look like she believed him. He was unarmed and incarcerated, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. “Everyone in the city takes Shiro as their name. Shirodore, Shirohinata, Shinroyui…”

“Shirogane! You know him, he’s on your crew. I swear, bring him and I’ll tell you everything. I just need to make sure he’s okay, that’s the only thing that matters.” Keith pleaded. Nothing in this dream world made much sense, but if Shiro was here, if he was alive, then the empty pit in his heart would stop aching and he could breathe enough to find out what had happened.

Something in his eyes must have swayed him, because after a tense moment of silence, Captain Hiratoshi nodded. “Okay. But you will remain here until he arrives.”

“Yes! Tell him… Tell him it’s Keith.” Keith would have gladly glued himself to the floor if it would bring Shiro faster. It felt like his heart had relearned how to beat, and he was so drunk on relief, he could have collapsed. When the Captain left the room, he was still smiling.

 

* * *

 

Captain Hiratoshi closed the door behind her with a gentle snap, already massaging the bridge of her nose. The stranger was like nothing she’d ever known. She couldn’t even compare it to speaking a different dialect. When she returned to Hira after a long assignment and carried home the accent of her peers and slipped into different colloquialisms, her family could understand the context of what she said. This  _Keith_ understood nothing. But he certainly knew how to speak. She just didn’t know why he was so damn loud all the time.

“Do you know why he’s so… distressed?” The doctor asked, clearly as overwhelmed as she felt. They’d have both liked him to stop mentally screaming.

Their hands brushed, the warmest threads of comfort coming through. Condolences and reassurances underlined by a growing sense of dread. The hospital staff had all been very generous so far, and their respect for Captain Hiratoshi had given them privacy, but this was an incident none of them could have prepared for. If this wasn’t just a case of a disturbed young man, this was going to require the attention of the Council of Cities.

She’d just wanted to get to work on time.

“He’s calming down.” Captain Hiratoshi said. They both knew she was lying. “Watch him. I have to make a few calls.”

She was pretty sure she wasn’t getting to work at all.

Shirogane arrived not much later, flanked by members of the Garrison and safety personnel doing their utmost worst to blend in with civilians. He stopped in front of her and saluted.

“Ma’am?”

“We have a situation here, Shirogane. That man in there is dangerous.”

The man gave his best roguish grin. “So I’ve heard, news travels fast when the famous Captain Hiratoshi saves everyone from some screaming man terrorizing the central garden. The people already think you’re a legend. You’re going to be a hero before the Freedom even launches.”

Hiratoshi scowled, ears flattening along her skull. “I was just on my way to the Garrison in the morning, I wasn’t going to intervene, but I could feel his distress in my teeth, it was so loud. I thought bringing him to the hospital would help, but we have an even bigger problem now. He’s claiming to know critical information about the mission, and he would only speak to you.”

That was strange, though not entirely unexpected. News of their historic exploration mission had been dominating the news for years. Everyone involved with the crew was well known across the planet, the first Koryu tasked with venturing into deep space and extending diplomatic ties with other races. Ever since representatives from the Balmerans had picked up their signals and made first contact years ago, the planet had been consumed with a specific sort of interest. With fame came some overzealous fans willing to do just about anything to meet them.

“I think I’ll be able to calm him down then, maybe a chat will help set things straight?” He was overly cocky, and his Captain grabbed his arm, radiating disapproval until his ears drooped.

“He is only communicating in Balmeran. I think there’s more to him than just some eager fan wanting you to share a skin memory.”

That got his attention.

It wasn’t impossible for a civilian to have found a way to learn Balmeran, just very, very unlikely. Even among their community, specialists were struggling.

“What would you have me do?”

“Whatever you can. Practice some of that first contact protocol.” Captain Hiratoshi might have been smiling, but there was very little humor in her expression. “Don’t worry, Shirogane. We’ll be right here if anything happens.”

Great, he thought with some exasperation. They expected something to happen.

He was more tense than he would have liked when he entered the room, but any concern about saving face was immediately torn apart by the wave of distress radiating off the young man. He looked ordinary in all the ways that mattered, if not a little rumpled. There were no weird proboscises sticking out of anything, no extra limbs to speak of, but he couldn’t focus on the way the stranger looked when he was just so damn loud. Shirogane took one step into the room and had to stop, not daring another step lest he trip over his own feet. His eyes watered, the incessant pounding of the stranger’s thoughts against his skull like a physical force.

Then the stranger inhaled sharply, his hands going to his mouth.

“What the _fuck.”_

Well, he definitely hadn’t learned Balmeran from a Garrison-sanctioned source.

“No. No-” The stranger took a step closer, moving like he meant to reach out than recoiled. “No, it can’t- I need Takashi. I need Takashi.”

Ryou’s smile strained around the edges when the man mentioned his little brother, but he kept his hands stretched out in welcome. “Captain Hiratoshi told me you have been asking to see me. I’m Doctor Shirogane. I’m here to help.”

“Not you, Takashi. Oh Light, I can’t.” Keith backed away and sat heavily on the bed, hands fisting into his hair. He couldn’t look at Ryou. They looked so alike that it hurt. They could have been twins.

“You know, not many people can speak Balmeran. Where did you pick up the language?” Ryou asked gently, pulling up a chair so he didn’t get too close to Keith. Even a stray touch would be enough to deafen himself with the man’s emotional distress.

“I don’t know what’s happening.” Keith sounded lost. “Everything was gone, we’d lost everything. This place died years ago, Shiro was the only one left.”

Ryou frowned. His expertise didn’t extend to mental health, and the young man clearly needed help from someone with more skill. “You said you knew something about the mission that you wanted to tell us. Are you worried? I know it’s scary that in a couple of weeks we’ll be exploring the unknown, but you don’t have to be afraid. We’ve got the best team for the job.”

“A few weeks?” The poor young man almost seemed to stop breathing. “You haven’t gone yet. None of this happened.” He curled his fingers into his chest, eyes wild with a mad sort of hope. The Galra had created Project Zero to bend space and time in order to infect all organic life at once. The Paladin had told him the truth: the technology was too dangerous to control. Bending time and space could break it entirely, destroying the universe in the process and the Galra never cared about the risk. When he’d used its power, he thought they’d all be destroyed. There was no other way, there was nothing left and no hope of winning. The end of everything was the only peace he could offer.

But this wasn’t the end, it was the beginning! The dream had focused the weapon, a blooming tree and a still pond on an alien world years ago. Time and space, oh Light.

_There was still time._

“I need to see Takashi.”

The stranger’s demeanor changed so abruptly, Ryou could have gotten whiplash. A new surge of determination dampened his distress, and he looked at the doctor with such focus that Ryou’s ears perked on end. Throwing his little brother at this guy seemed like a terrible bloody idea.

“Takashi doesn’t have the same authority over our mission as I do.” Ryou lied smoothly, radiating sincerity like he was trying to drown the stranger in it. It was a valiant but ultimately useless effort.

“I will only talk to Takashi.” Keith said, stressing every syllable. Then without another word, he turned back to his chair and turned away from Ryou, his heart pounding like a drum. And the frantic wail of his distress softened into a whisper.

 

* * *

 

“I don’t like this,” Doctor Shirogane said, the moment he was out of the room, and Captain Hiratoshi didn’t snarl but she wanted to. “Why is he so fixated on Takashi? It makes no sense.”

“Maybe he’d like to deal with the more professional Shirogane.”

Ryou swiveled on his heel to find his brother standing at the far end of the corridor, looking far too pleased for his liking.

“When it became clear you weren’t going to get results, we called in your brother.” Captain Hiratoshi said, tone pointedly bland.

“Oh please,  _professional_.” If Ryou could have rolled his eyes any harder, they would have fallen out of his head. Takashi strode across the room and snapped a smart salute for his Captain before turning a smug grin on his brother. “You haven’t even cut your hair for the mission yet, it’s regulations, Shi. We’ve got a week full of press conferences and you’re a mess.”

Takashi sighed, they’d had this argument so often he could predict every word. He’d pulled his long black hair back into a neat ponytail, the fur on his ears well groomed. It might not have been regulation, but he knew he looked good. “And I told you I was going to get it cut before launch, I’ll take care of it.” Ryou ruined everything by flicking one of his ears hard enough to make him yelp.

All Captain Hiratoshi had to do was clear her throat and both men immediately apologized. “Let’s focus on the problem at hand, shall we?” She said sternly, doing her best to hide her smile. “We picked up this man acting erratically. He could be ill, but there’s something odd about him. He only speaks Balmeran and he insists on speaking to you.”

“You think he’s an alien?” Takashi and Ryou shared a confused look. “He doesn’t look anything like the Balmeran diplomats, he’s Koryu.”

“He looks Koryu, but something’s off. With our launch so close, it’s possible we’ve attracted some attention. Just get in there and find out what he knows, if anything. I’m hoping this is just a case of a disturbed young man who needs some help, but if it’s not?” The Captain didn’t have to explain the warning.’

“Don’t worry, ma’am, I’ve got this.” Takashi saluted again and entered the holding cell. 

The Captain shook her head. “He’s got no chance, does he?”

“Not a one, ma’am.” Ryou said with a grin.

 

* * *

 

Keith thought he would be impatient. He’d never been fond of waiting. Now he knew that it hadn’t just been a human trait. In another time, the shuffling outside his door would’ve left him irritated and uneasy, and he had been. Then the door opened, and suddenly he wasn’t sure if he was ready.

He didn’t think it was Shiro, not immediately. The Koryu’s hair was too long, smoothed back into a ponytail and as dark as coal. He carried himself with less tension, more comfortable in his own step and already smiling, like the unknown still held more promise than threat. He took Keith’s breath away every time. Shiro didn’t even have to try.

“Shiro…”

It was barely a whisper. Keith wasn’t even sure who spoke, but the Koryu turned to him, with more kindness in his eyes than Keith deserved, and he went weak in the knees.

“Hey. You’re okay.” Takashi said, trying to fight through the maelstrom of grief and want that washed over him, so thick he could hold it in his hands. “Whatever happened, we’ll figure it out. It’s going to be okay.”

Keith was already moving. He didn’t mean to. He hadn’t planned it, but when he reached out, Shiro was there to catch him, holding him tight after everything that had happened, and Keith couldn’t hold on tight enough.

It felt like someone had cracked open Takashi’s chest and reached inside, wrapping their hands around his heart. The Koryu gasped, speechless and blind in the whirlwind of emotion that consumed them both. Keith wasn’t speaking, he didn’t use the delicate unspoken words of their language, this was a scream that vibrated to the core of him until Takashi wasn’t sure where he ended and the pain began.

“I’m sorry!” Keith sobbed, body shaking as he held on and tried to banish the memory of Shiro’s dead eyes, the way his head snapped back when he’d been shot. He was here, alive and whole and real, with gentle hands and soft murmured words that Keith didn’t need to understand. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Takashi couldn’t do anything but hold onto the strange young man, tears pouring down his own face as each wave of pain and joy and grief almost knocked him to his knees. He’d never been so affected before, the connection deep enough to cut him straight to the bone. “I’ve got you.” He whispered, trying anything to calm the flood. “I’m here, I’m not going to let you go. I’ve got you now, you’re safe.”

Keith pulled black, almost giddy as he wiped his sleeve across his face and gave a hiccupping laugh. “What have you done to your hair?” He traced his thumbs beneath Shiro’s eyes to catch the tears.

“Not you too!”

“I like it.”

Dangerous thoughts lingered just beneath the surface, all the little differences trying to break through Keith’s thoughts, but he ran his fingers through Shiro’s hair, smoothing it back with infinite care. Silken strands came lose, but Shiro didn’t seem to mind. He turned his cheek into Keith’s hand, letting him stroke across his ears.

There was a startling sort of familiarity, in every gesture, every touch, and when Keith reached up, bringing their foreheads together, sensation prickling between them in the most intimate ways, Shiro’s knees felt weak. It was too much. He was falling, the ground beneath his feet slipping away like it was made of ice, but he knew there was someone to catch him.

The door banged open so sharply that Keith hissed, his ears flattening against his head as he tightened his grip around Shiro’s waist. Ryou snarled, pulling his brother away as Garrison personnel swarmed Keith.

“No!” Reality came crashing back and Takashi reached for Keith and that breathtaking connection, fighting against his brother. “I have to help him!”

“Shiro!” Keith was a demon, snarling at the men who stole his Shiro away from him. His skin bled purple, eyes flaring a bright yellow as all the color drained from his hair. He was Galra, they had no idea what he was, how dare they try to interfere? He slammed his fist into one of the guards’ face, dragging another down with him as he brawled. There wasn’t enough space for a true fight and none of the guards had weapons beyond their razor sharp claws. It was the hurt shock on Shiro’s face that took the fight out of him, letting the guards claim their victory. Ryou didn’t stay to watch and yanked his brother out of the cell, slamming him up against the wall.

“Secure the alien!” Captain Hiratoshi yelled as Ryou shook his brother.

“Snap out of it, Shi! He’s in your head, come back.”

“Get him out of here, we’ll deal with the prisoner.” The Captain ordered and Ryou was swift to obey, dragging Takashi away from Keith’s room.

The moment they turned the corner, Takashi folded in on himself, like a sail without a breeze. After everything had been severed so hastily, he was left numb. Ryou tried to win them some privacy, bullying Shiro into one of the hospital’s quieter corners, letting the hum of tiny pollinators that flew between bright blue flowers muffle their conversation. “Takashi…”

His expression soured, and he licked the end of his thumb before swiping at his younger brother’s face. Takashi grumbled, but it was perfunctory at best, still trying to get his feet back under him.

“I’m fine.” Takashi said, but that only made his brother more suspicious. Ryou grumbled under his breath, voiced annoyance less important than the fretting concern that bloomed wherever they touched. Ryou had taken to smoothing back his brother’s hair, trying to tame it into a ponytail the way he had before Takashi’s first exam in Balmeran, back when he had yet to secure his position as a crew member on the Freedom. It helped both of them.

“What was that back there?” Ryou mumbled. Takashi just shook his head, offering him an uneven smile.

“He was just… Very happy to see me.”

“He was controlling you somehow, and did you see him  _change_?” Ryou looked furtively back down the hallway. “Whatever he is, he’s dangerous and we need to keep him away from you until we figure out how he managed to connect so strongly with you.”

“He wasn’t controlling me, he was-” Takashi batted away Ryou’s hands as his brother tried to peer into his eyes. “He was just sad and I’m fine! I’ve never had a bond like that before, it was intense. A stranger shouldn’t be able to get that intimate, but he wasn’t trying to hurt me. He’s scared, Ryou. Overwhelmed. I need to talk to him again.”

“Like hell you will.” Ryou grasped his shoulders and gave him a little shake. “I watched him break you down with just a touch. I have no idea why he’s so fixated on you, but you’re staying away from him until we figure out what’s going on. C’mon little brother, don’t make me worried?” Worry flooded into Shiro’s veins, quiet and calming in hushed words that soothed his raw nerves until he finally relaxed.

“He was in so much pain, Ryou. It felt like my heart was breaking and then he smiled and I, I don’t know.” He shared a muted wave with his brother, the elation and relief. Ryou huffed a laugh.

“We haven’t even left the planet yet and you’re already causing trouble with the aliens.”

“It wasn’t like I started it.”

“Hey, do you think it’s some kind of mating ritual?”

“Ryou!”

“What! Or he could’ve been trying to eat you. It’s basic biology!” His brother danced out of the way as Takashi took a shot at him, but the tension had gone out of them both. Ryou kept an arm around his shoulders until they’d gotten confirmation that the alien was under control. Later there would be status reports and security updates. Takashi would be swept up into everything, whether he wanted to or not, but for the moment, he couldn’t help but turn towards the room where their prisoner was held. And he wondered why he felt so alone.

 

* * *

 

They’d managed to keep everything quiet for now, though it was only a matter of time before they’d have to make things public. They were not a people who believed in secrets, even dangerous ones, and an unknown alien in their midst certainly qualified as that. It was unsettling to think that even as they were so close to their first steps into the unknown beyond their planet that there were others who’d already started to infiltrate their cities. How many more were they? What did they want?

He rubbed a hand against the back of his head, still feeling the lingering connection like an afterimage burned into his emotions. There was one thing the creature wanted for sure: him. Takashi knew the Garrison had tried to keep the reports away from him. Ryou would be worried, his brother had always been protective of him and it wasn’t surprising that he wanted to keep the alien as far away as possible after what had happened. Captain Hiratoshi had ordered him to his quarters in the Garrison, relieved of his duty until he’d undergone a thorough physical to make sure that he wasn’t still under the influence.

They didn’t understand. That man, that creature hadn’t harmed him. The emotions had been overwhelming and their bond had been impossibly deep, but it had all seemed like an accident.  _Keith_  was trying to warn them about something and no one wanted to listen.

If Takashi gave him a chance, then all of this could finally make sense.

Or maybe he was wrong and placing the lives of everyone on a fragile trust with a creature who’d come to destroy everything.

It was a choice that balanced on the edge of a blade, but Takashi trusted what he could feel and he was never a man to sit quietly and wait for others to make the decision for him. It was that drive that had made him a candidate for the Freedom’s crew in the first place, a man who’d sacrificed everything for the dream of something bigger the life he was given. He’d been beating himself against the walls of his cage since he’d been old enough to recognize the things that kept his people safe also kept them trapped. It was also that drive that had him sneaking through the Garrison holding cells in the middle of the night, to speak to a man from another planet that was arguably trying to fry his brain.

It had taken him the better part of the night to even get this far, but Takashi found the prisoner, curled up in the farthest corner of his cell, his arms wrapped around his knees to keep them tucked against his chest. He looked young. Tired. If Shiro had any doubts before, they were gone now.

He tapped against the one-way glass once, and hesitated as the stranger wouldn’t move, wary of disturbing what little peace he might have found. Yet when Shiro spoke into the intercom, he tensed the instant he heard his voice.

“Hey…”

“Shiro…? Takashi.” Keith looked up, his heart in his throat. His eyes were too wide, and his cheeks too pale. It had been a long day. “What are you doing here?”

“I think that’s my line.”

A small smile flickered over the alien’s face and he slowly uncurled, looking through the glass with his strange glowing eyes as if he could see Takashi through it. “Would you believe me if I said I didn’t know?”

“I, I don’t know.”

“Are you afraid of me?” The alien asked and Takashi wasn’t sure how to answer. He should have been afraid, he should have been anywhere but here, breaking regulations to speak to an alien that had brought him to his knees.

He stepped away from the glass and punched in a code, the door to the cell sliding open silently. Keith jumped, but Takashi stayed in the doorway, keeping his distance. The strange pull between them had faded, the alien’s emotions were blocked and their bond severed. Takashi didn’t want to admit he felt a small pang of regret. “I don’t think you want to hurt anyone.”

Keith inhaled sharply at the words echoing from a distant future. “How do you always know me so well?”

“What are you?”

“Galra.” Keith watched Takashi closely for any reaction before huffing a bitter laugh. “You don’t have any idea what that means, do you?”

“Am I supposed to?”

“You will.” He unwound his limbs, letting Takashi get a look at his true form. “Terrible things are coming.”

He was like nothing the Koryu had ever seen before, in the same way the Balmeran diplomats hadn’t been, or the multitude of species they’d introduced through their holovids. Someday, Takashi dreamed of being a seasoned space traveler, too tired of it all to be amazed by every new thing, but for now, he was happy to let the stranger steal his breath away.

“Or what?” He asked, softer than he meant to, and he must have been more obvious about his staring than he assumed, because the Galra flushed purple and began shifting back into his Koryu form. Takashi couldn’t honestly say it was an improvement. “What’s the rush?”

His emotions were more subdued now, because of either fatigue or resolution, but he still felt the twinge of sorrow that came with the Galra’s smile. “Not too long from now, others like me are going to attack Koryusai. There will be no survivors.”

Takashi tensed, waiting to hear the punchline of a joke that already sounded bad, but there was none forthcoming.

Keith scrubbed a hand over his face and tried not to sigh. “I’ve been saying the same thing all day. I just thought you’d be the one to believe me.”

“I’m not saying I don’t.” Takashi said, but Keith fixed him with such a bland stare that he had to concede.

“I know that this sound crazy, but I know what’s going to happen. I have a chance to stop it all before it starts, there’s  _time_  now.” Keith sounded like he was unraveling, but Takashi let him speak.  He paced the small space of the cell, hands clenching and unclenching like he wanted to grab on to anything, but he kept away from Takashi, both too afraid of what could happen if they touched. “I need your help Shiro.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” Takashi asked gently as Keith buried his face in his hands, swallowing down a scream of frustration.

“That’s what your name was!” Keith snarled and Takashi raised a single eyebrow. “Look, it doesn’t matter how I know, what matters is getting out of here and stopping them. You can feel I’m telling the truth, can’t you?”

“Not anymore, I can’t feel anything from you now.” Takashi almost reached out his hand, but stopped himself. “And I’m not sure you’re not manipulating me in some way. I’m sorry, I can’t do this. I’ll talk to the scientists, they’ll be able to help you, or maybe a diplomat? I’m just the pilot.”

“You were my friend!” Keith could feel tears prickling his eyes again, which only made him angry. He was losing control, his world falling apart and building itself back into unfamiliar shapes. He’d lost Shiro hours ago, killed him with his own hands and watched him fall. He’d decided to tear the universe apart rather than live without him and now he was here, on a dead world in a past he didn’t recognize, staring at the man he loved who had no idea who he was. “You believed in me, Takashi. You picked me up when you had no idea what I was beyond some scruffy thief from some nowhere space station and you believed I could be something more. You weren’t afraid of me when you found out I was Galra. You never stopped fighting for me even when it was hopeless and you should have just turned around and run. I was your partner, you taught me how to be a hero and I tried-, I tried and I lost. I lost everything.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Then give me a chance to explain everything to you. I swear I will, but we need to get out of here. I can save everything, I just need you to trust me.” He curled into himself, crushed by a weight that Takashi didn’t understand, but he was in pain. Keith shook, sobs wracking his body. Project Zero was supposed to have destroyed him, instead, it brought him here and gave him a second chance. _I won’t lose you again._

This was a mistake, but Takashi couldn’t ignore the way the alien had reached inside of him and poured every piece of himself into Takashi’s soul. There’d been no barriers, no doubts, no dark plans, just a connection he couldn’t deny. The Galra spoke like they knew each other somehow and Takashi wondered if it might actually be possible. There was so much about the universe that he didn’t know and he had never been satisfied to sit back and wait for someone else to hand him the answers.

“Come on,” Takashi whispered. “Let’s get you out of here.”

He extended his hand, and pulled Keith towards freedom.


	20. Chapter 20

With the wind whipping at him and nothing but darkness surrounding them as they raced through the city’s underbelly, Keith felt like they’d been flying for an eternity. He knew that couldn’t be true. If he wanted to, he could check his database and calculate exactly how many minutes, seconds and milliseconds it had been since his escape, but it wouldn’t matter. Takashi was pressed against him, Keith’s arms wrapped tight around his waist, an engine thrumming between his legs, and it felt like forever. That still didn’t feel like long enough.

Takashi. Not Shiro. Not its last survivor, not the man who bore its name as both honor and burden. Not yet.

Keith reached out for contact, driven by newly formed instincts that felt far too strong, but all he could find were the smooth seams of Takashi’s jacket. It was just brighter when they could touch, every emotion sharper and kinder, and Keith didn’t know how much he needed it until it was freely given. Takashi took his hand off the steering wheel, closing it over Keith’s. His voice came in crisp and clear through Keith’s helmet, like he was whispering into his ear.

“Look up.”

Keith did.

They came out of the tunnel, and the world exploded into stars. Keith gasped despite himself, eyes going wide as he took in every blinking light and unfamiliar constellation. His head whipped back towards where they’d come, and it was only then that he could properly see the dome of glass that encased Shiro. The city’s lights flickered lazily behind its shield.

The jeweled sky seemed to stretch out forever over a desolate wasteland. After the life of the city, the contrast was jarring. The ground looked like it had been scorched, the earth flat and cracked, kicking up dust as they raced along in their hovercraft. Nothing grew for as far as he could see. The flatness was broken by misshapen lumps huddled against the horizon, the remains of ancient buildings. Keith stared as they raced passed, their broken faces staring back like empty skulls. He wondered how long they’d been abandoned, left to the scouring wind and sand.

“What happened here?”

“Our biggest mistake.” Shiro said, his voice wistful. “We fought a war with weapons that we shouldn’t have developed and it destroyed the entire world. It almost wiped my people out completely. It took us generations to rebuild, a few small cities where we were able to grow again. Everything beyond the barrier is dangerous and dead. Most of it’s still poisoned.”

The emptiness was beautiful, but lonely, and seemed to go on forever. Keith rubbed at the faint burning in his chest before pressing closer to Takashi, chasing the warmth of him through their protective suits.The city beneath its glittering dome faded behind them as the terrane grew rockier, Takashi swerving through a narrow path that finally opened up into the crumbling remains of what could have been a town. Only a few buildings remained among the rubble, but it was a miracle that they had lasted so long relatively unharmed, shielded by the rocky ridges from the wind and dust storms. He brought the hovercraft to a stop and pulled off his helmet, Keith following suit.

The air was thin, but untainted and Keith took several breaths to adjust. “What is this place?” He murmured, not wanting to raise his voice among the dead.

“My brother and I found it when we were younger, it’s sort of our hidden place. No one will be able to find you here, c’mon.” Takashi grinned and gestured Keith into one of the buildings. With a hard shoulder against the door, he shoved it open and showed Keith inside.

Though the world outside was dead, the building had clearly been occupied for a long time. Small lights flickered with captured quintessence, powered by something unseen. Supplies lay stacked against one wall by several old mattresses and blankets. The walls were covered in drawings that seemed to have been made by children, adventures on distant planets and strangely shaped spacecraft displayed with pride. “We haven’t been here in a while, but I thought you’d need a chance to rest before we figure out what to do.”

He chuckled under his breath as he traced one of the closest pictures. “All things considered, it’s a miracle neither of us got radiation poisoning. We got lucky. They scouts are still finding spots of it in the old ruins. Not enough to set us back to the Age of Ash, but enough that the Council of Cities is still dragging their feet about expanding.”

He spoke with his hands, dragging Keith into the conversation without really thinking about it, his fingers lingering on Keith’s palm, then the inside of his wrist. Brushes of contact were shared freely, waves of respect and vexation swirled alongside hope. The closest Keith could come to explaining it was having two conversations at once, or watching the words of a script come to life on a holovid.

“We were always happy with what we had.” It should have been a compliment. It wasn’t entirely. The words shared space with muted frustration, a fond sort of resignation and bitterness. “We’ve lived in our bubbles for so long, we’ve forgotten how to look beyond them, but after the first time I came out here, I couldn’t stop dreaming about the stars. I knew that I wanted to see them.”

He was greedier than Shiro, Keith realized almost wistfully. Or maybe, he was just more honest about it.

Something of that must have transmitted, because Takashi looked alarmed for a moment. Then he moved closer, pressing up against Keith’s side and running a hand through his hair and along his ears. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He spoke slower, enunciating his Balmeran more carefully. “You were quiet earlier. Now it’s…”

Keith couldn’t keep himself from leaning into the touch, feeling the edge of worry from Takashi’s emotions spilling into him, though more controlled and subtle than any he could manage in return. Shiro had never been so open with his feelings, even when they’d pulled the walls down and shared their souls between the sheets. He clamped down on that memory as quickly as it came, pulling himself away from Takashi before it could slip through.

This wasn’t Shiro, not the one he’d known. He’d seen glimpses of this man in the recordings he’d stolen from the Freedom, but Takashi still dreamed of the stars. He hoped for something better, he carried joy with him instead of sorrow and pain. For the first time since Keith had met Shiro, he wasn’t dying. The trick was keeping him that way.

“You wanted to fly more than anything, but if they found out you broke me out, you could lose everything. Why did you help me?”

“Because you needed help.” He sounded so matter of fact, as if it hadn’t been a question at all. Takashi reached for him, but Keith pulled back, afraid of what secrets he’d share through their touch.

“You don’t even know me.”

“Don’t I? You talk like we know each other, I could feel what you felt when you saw me. You knew my name, you were looking for me. There’s no one here but us, you can tell me what’s going on. If you really think Koryusai is in danger, I’m willing to listen.”

Takashi was so ready to put his faith in a stranger, he never saw the danger or knew enough to be afraid of a Galra. No, this wasn’t his Shiro, but in the end, he hadn’t really been Keith either.

Keith took a few steps towards the closest mattress before collapsing into it without any grace, his head in his hands. He’d repeated his explanation so often, it felt like he’d memorized every word, but Takashi was the most important audience he could ever hope for.  _Shiro_ had said they would make it count.

“I don’t know how aware you are of galactic politics, and for a long time, I know the Galactic Coalition wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening, but right now the Galra fleet is waging war on the galaxy. They’re… me. They’re my people. Organic and synthetic, and we’ve been claiming worlds for generations. They killed Koryusai.” He looked up at Takashi, his heart racing as his shadow fell over him. Fear and guilt burned in the bile that crept up his throat, but Keith couldn’t stop now.

“You were the last survivor.” He said, in barely a whisper. “You were… brave and strong. You fought when so many people wouldn’t, and you protected others even when it cost and you were. You were my best friend.”

Takashi dropped down next to him, unsure if this was all some kind of joke. “And you’re what, some kind of prophet from the future to warn all of us?”

“It’s not funny!” Keith snapped, knowing exactly how impossible his story sounded. He pressed his hands against his chest where Project Zero lay quiet, a machine capable of tearing apart all of existence resting inside for him to control. It was too much power.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” Takashi handed Keith a blanket, old but soft and pattered with elaborate embroidery. If this was real, it was all too big to think about. The end of his entire planet, being the last of his kind. Everything and everyone he’d ever known wiped out completely. “I believe you, that’s why I brought you here. It’s just-”

“I know, trust me.” Keith nodded his thanks and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. “It feels crazy just talking about it. A few hours ago, the world was falling apart and we were all fighting for our lives and then  _boom_ , I’m here and you, you don’t even know me. But it’s true. You didn’t like to talk much about your past, but you told me some things.” A small smile quirked at the corner of Keith’s mouth. “I know that you studied so hard that you stressed yourself into a compromising position and you have a tattoo to commemorate what happened.”

Takashi burned red up to the tips of his furry ears. “I  _told_ you that?” He coughed, looking away. No one knew about that except the girl who’d helped him through it and his brother who covered for him. Going into heat was rare these days, a loss of control that he never wanted to admit to, even if the memories were worth it. His partner had been his fiercest rival in the Garrison, almost beating him out to pilot the Freedom. She was scheduled to fly the next mission, but she always enjoyed having that one thing she could say she’d beaten Takashi in.

His reaction was too much and Keith doubled over laughing, the weight of the future lifting from his shoulders for a moment.

“If it helps, I always knew you were dedicated to your work?”

The look on the Koryu’s face told him it didn’t, even before waves of embarrassed distress moved through their channel. “I was such a nerd.”

“You probably still are.”

They shared a smile, slowly coming back to themselves. Takashi fidgeted with the edge of the blanket, slowly working his way through everything he’d been given. “So why- how did you come back here? Is that… I don’t know. If time travel exists in the future, I don’t see how any war couldn’t have gone the way you wanted it to.”

“We made a weapon, one that put everyone at risk. I used it to try and stop the war, but it sent me back here instead. We can keep it from ever being made in the first place.” Keith looked at his hands. He could stop all of his mistakes and save his family before they would ever be in danger, even if they never knew who he was. He’d do it all alone if he had to, like Shiro had.

His heart seized with grief. Shiro had always been so worried about memories, but now he was the only one who carried them. His Shiro, the way they loved each other, it never existed. Lance and Hunk never had a chance to be heroes. Pidge was out there somewhere, all her sacrifices to change her family’s legacy was gone. They were all gone and Keith would never get them back. They’d never even want him back if they knew the truth about him.

“Hey, are you okay?” Takashi was a warm, comforting presence at his side, reacting to his distress with gentle reassuring touches. If Keith closed his eyes, he could almost believe that his Shiro was here.

“Fine, it’s just, it’s a lot.” Keith admitted, ears drooped in exhaustion. “I can’t stay here. I need to get off planet if I’m going to stop it, I have to think of a plan.”  _What would you do, Shiro? How would you fix it all?_

“What if I could get you off planet? Would you know where to go?” Takashi asked, so softly Keith was sure he’d imagined. He looked up so sharply that Takashi had to smile, and the Koryu reached out, smoothing down Keith’s hair in a way that sent shivers down Keith’s spine.

“I, Shi- Takashi, what?”

His touches grew more insistent, and Keith fell into it, letting Takashi draw him into a hug that felt as simple as breathing. Given the chance, the vast majority of Koryu were tactile. Takashi might have been the exception to so many of their rules, but not that one.

“You can call me Shi. My friends do.” Keith couldn’t see him, but somehow he knew he was smiling. “Do you know where you’d go?”

A sharp surge of hope curled through Keith’s chest, giving away an answer before he could find the words, because even if he didn’t know where all the moving parties were on this board, but he thought he knew enough to find one. Maybe the most important of them all. The Paladin.

“I don’t know for sure.” Keith started, but Takashi laughed, a low rumbling purr that he felt against his chest.

“Are all aliens so bad at lying?

“They are when they’re being smothered by empathic cats.” Keith said grumpily. Takashi just laughed again.

“What’s a cat?”

“An Earth thing.”

“What’s an Earth?”

“Ugh.” Keith flicked his ears, but let himself relax for the first time. The road ahead would be difficult, but while he was in Shiro’s arms, he felt like anything could be possible. It felt like a stolen moment, peace before the war descended on them again, and it would. Keith knew it waited for them at the edge of the atmosphere, ready to swallow this world and everything on it back into its violence. A second chance only meant anything if he could use it to change the future.

“So if I could get you off planet, we’ll find wherever it is you need to go, and we can stop the invasion, right?”

 _We?_  Keith wriggled in Shiro’s arms until he could look up at him. “You want to come with me?”

“You can’t just tell me my entire planet is in danger and expect me to stay behind, do you?”

Keith hadn’t really thought that far ahead. He hadn’t made any plan beyond ‘find Shiro,’ to be honest, and even that part of the plan hadn’t gone quite as well as he’d hoped. If he brought Takashi along with him, he’d be in danger. The war was too big and Takashi wasn’t ready, this must have been exactly what Shiro had felt when he’d accidentally wound up with a thief from some rundown space station on board his ship. But if he left Takashi here and he failed, then he’d be killed or infected.

“It’s going to be dangerous.” Keith whispered, his own uncertainty playing across their connection. If he couldn’t save Takashi, then he should be able to give him the truth.

Takashi reached up, bringing their foreheads together gently, and Keith thought back to their first time, reliving relief and hope and giddy want that made his chest ache with its force. Takashi didn’t let go.

“Then it’s a good thing you’re not going alone.”

Keith couldn’t help but laugh. Time and space and the fabric of the universe couldn’t change Shiro’s reckless heroism. That shouldn’t have made him feel as good as it did. He didn’t say anything, but it didn’t seem like he needed to. Takashi radiated contentment, and he moved only to wrap his arms around Keith’s waist. Keith closed his eyes, sinking into his grip.

“You should tell me about the tattoo on your arm, when we get up there.” Keith murmured softly. “The one you got for your brother. Tell me if it was as good as seeing the real thing.”

Takashi held out his right arm, a line of iridescent planets dotted in complicate orbits decorating his skin. He’d commemorated the first time he and his brother had been to this place and the first time they’d seen the sky. It had changed his life forever. Rough fingers traced over the mark and he looked at Keith almost in wonder. It was strange to know almost nothing about him and yet, to have him to know so many of Takashi’s personal memories. It put him off balance, unsure of what it all could mean except that in future, he’d trusted this man. How could he do any less now?

“Get some rest, we’ll figure it out in the morning.” Takashi said, stretching back on the mattress. “After today, you’ll need some sleep.”

 _You have no idea_. Keith didn’t argue, he was too tired to do more than let himself drift off, safe and secure in Takashi’s arms. It almost felt like home.

 

* * *

 

Morning came too soon. The door to their hideaway crashed open, a figure silhouetted against the harsh sunlight. “What the hell have you done?!”

Keith was hissing before he could fully open his eyes, clumsily dragging himself across of the Koryu until he could block Takashi from view. He just wasn’t prepared to look up and find Takashi glaring at him.

Not Takashi. Ryou. Right.

The doctor looked livid, his ears flattened against his skull and the tips of his canines poking passed his lips whenever he snarled.

“Ryou, how-” Takashi asked, but Keith could feel his embarrassment so thickly, it was like a physical blanket had been draped across his shoulders. At least it was embarrassment and not anger. He still hadn’t pulled away, one arm slung with a careless sort of possession around Keith’s hip, their legs still tangled beneath the blankets. Ryou wasn’t having any of it.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve started?” He snapped. “The city is in uproar!”

Ryou looked like he was going to physically drag Takashi back. Keith reached out, automatically moving to intercept him, and for a moment they both froze. Keith didn’t know how Ryou could move. It felt like he was being choked by his own fear and worry, his brother’s well-being at the forefront of his mind. But Ryou was forced to face down a protective streak that could’ve rivaled their mothers’.

“Everybody stop!” Takashi ordered as he separated the pair, standing between them. “Keith, it’s fine. He’s not going to hurt me and Ryou, calm down! I’m fine, no one’s hurt.”

Ryou and Keith glared at each other as if debating how to shove Takashi out of the way to take a swing at each other. Finally Ryou sighed, baring his fangs at his brother. “Word’s gotten out about your shapeshifting alien friend and how he escaped, they know you’re involved. Right now, everyone’s saying that you’re mind controlled and I find you here together like-“ He rubbed his fingers into his temple. “Did that thing seduce you, Shi? You have no idea about alien mating rituals, what if it laid eggs in your chest or something. I need to get you back to the Garrison and run a full medical check.”

“What?! Wait, no. Nope, there wasn’t any mating anything, Ryou.” Takashi flushed, unable to even look at Keith. “We were just tired, that’s it.”

“You don’t know! What if it’s a skin to skin transfer, like a parasite? What if you’re another one of those things, shifted to look like my brother?”

“That’s not how it works!” Keith snarled. “I didn’t hurt Takashi, I never would.”

“Because you’re weirdly obsessed with probing him or something?” Ryou challenged.

“Seriously, enough.” Takashi took control of the situation with two simple words. “I helped him because he’s been trying to warn us. There’s an invasion coming, Ryou, and you know as well as I do that we’re not ready.”

“Or that’s just what he told you to get you to help him. You’re too ready to trust everyone!”

Takashi drew his brother in, giving the doctor’s arm a squeeze. “And you’re too ready not to.”

It was hard to resist Takashi’s unwavering confidence and Ryou let his ears droop. “They’re talking about scrubbing the mission entirely. People are scared that we’ve drawn too much attention to ourselves, they don’t want strange aliens infiltrating our home, they’re scared.”

For an instant, there was a sharp flare of pain so sharp it could only be heartbreak, then Takashi stubbornly beat it back down. It was still enough to make his brother reach for him, grounding him with more than words.  
  
“Keith.” He said at length. “Can I have a word with my brother? We won’t take long.”  
  
Reluctantly Keith nodded, but as they left, he wondered if he should have been fighting to keep Shiro home.  
  
They left Keith in their hideaway and scaled the uneven paths along the ruins until they reached an open terrace. It had been gutted open long before either of them had been born, but they’d turned it into their lookout. Ryou’s skimmer was parked alongside Takashi’s. It made them both smile. Once upon a time, when they’d been too young to do anything but steal one for a joy ride, they made each other promise not to go out alone, more out of jealousy than a concern for safety. It had taken Takashi all of two weeks before breaking that rule, but he’d been gobsmacked to know he hadn’t been the first.  
  
When they could lean against their fliers, Ryou turned to him, his expression pointedly blank as he slipped back into their mother tongue. “You can’t trust him.”  
  
But it sounded like a question.  
  
Takashi reached out first, an apology pressed through skin, and it was so surprising that Ryou couldn’t immediately respond. His brother had always been so stubborn, certain he was right until proof was shoved in his face.   
  
“I know what happens if he’s wrong. I’ll be disgraced, maybe even exiled. But if Keith’s right, then everyone is at risk. And I can’t just stand by… If the price of being wrong is just my own life, I’m willing to take that chance.”

“You really think it’s that bad?” The thought was honestly terrifying if Ryou gave it any credence, it was easier to dismiss as a lie. The end of their world, an invasion they couldn’t stop. It had to be a fiction, but he could feel the tension in Takashi’s body as they looked back at the ruined building that had been their sanctuary for so many years.

“I don’t know, but what choice do we have? Even if we could convince everyone that we’re in danger, how would we ever fight an enemy we know nothing about? We don’t have warships or an army. We don’t build weapons anymore. We knew there was a risk that some species we contacted could be hostile, but attacking us in our home?” Takashi leaned into his brother’s space like he’d been doing since they were kids. “My life for everyone’s seems like a pretty fair deal to me.”

“Why does it have to be you? Out of everyone on the planet, why does the alien single you out?” Ryou pressed and his brother shrugged one shoulder.

“He said he knew me. I don’t know how that’s possible, but he knew things about me that no one should know. He said they’re making a weapon out there somewhere, and if we can stop it from being built, we can save ourselves too. Someone has to try, Ryou, it might as well be me.”

Ryou was silent for a long time as they watched the sun inch up into the sky and the wind carry swirling eddies of sand across the wasteland. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision. “You trust him.”

“I have to.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

“What? You can’t, I’m not going to let you risk everything for this, if I’m wrong-”

“Then both Shirogane brothers go down together.” Ryou slung an arm around Takashi’s shoulders. “And if you’re right, then we save everybody. I’m not letting you face this alone, we’ve always done everything together. That’s what I promised you when we first decided to fight for the stars.”

“But, your career, your plans, your- your…”

“It sucks having a brother who does reckless stupid things all the time, doesn’t it?” Ryou said, cheerfulness sharpened like a knife, and Takashi had the decency to flush.

“Jerk.”

The conversation in their thoughts shifted, fear giving way to relief and a hopeless sort of amazement. An alien, a real live unsanctioned alien, and this time they were among the first people on the entire planet to meet him. With his older brother to hold him up, Takashi let some of his awe and fear bleed through, just a fraction of how overwhelmed this whole situation had left him. In the middle of it all, when he was caught up in the madness of adrenaline, it all seemed possible. It was only during the quiet moments that trauma hit hardest.

“For the record, I think this is a terrible idea.”

But they smiled, because they were going to do it anyway.

 

* * *

 

Keith found himself sandwiched between two Shiroganes on a skimmer racing back across the wasteland towards the city. He had always thought Shiro was awe-inspiring in the strength of his convictions. No matter how dangerous or how outnumbered they were, he threw himself into the front line and he fought until they won. He was every inch the hero Keith had always wanted to be. Now, there were two of them and audacity of their sheer determination was incredible. Keith didn’t know why that surprised him so much.

Whatever Takashi had said to his brother, by the time they returned to the ruined building, they’d come up with a plan. Keith had been steeling himself to plead his case, apologizing for his behavior if it meant winning Ryou to their side, but Ryou had beaten him too it, outlining a strategy to get to the Freedom and off world before being detected.

It was crazy, brash, daring. Keith’s heart was already racing, adrenaline kicking through his system. Or maybe that was just because he felt Shiro pressed up behind him on the skimmer, arms settled around his waist.

“There’s some access tunnels through the Undercity, they’ll lead out from the Garrison to the landing pad. We can pop up right beside the ship and if we’re lucky, they’ll never see us coming.” Ryou’s voice transmitted through their helmets.

“What’s the Undercity?”

“Old tunnels and ruins from before the war. The city was built on them.” Takashi explained. “It’s just a bunch of old machines and power generators now, it’s what fuels the city’s quintessence engines.”

“And everyone can get to them?” Keith asked, a little incredulous.

“Don’t worry,” Takashi said. “I’ve still got Akanishi’s access codes.”

Keith could feel something like satisfaction coloring the Koryu’s words and he had to ask, “Why do you have those?”

Both brothers fell noticeably silent. Keith just sighed.

They returned to the city the same way they’d left it, under the cover of night and through the uneven tunnels deep beneath the city. While Keith was still getting a handle on his surroundings, the Koryu seemed completely at home in the dusty tunnels, nothing but their engine echoing across the walls. Soon the tunnels around them lightened, maintenance lines thrumming with dull quintessence and new growth of nocturnal plants thrived, creating paths for workers to follow. Panels of glass and steel were folded into the growth, dull but not deactivated. Eventually they came to a security barrier, but they made quick work of it, and the next one, and the one after that.

“The Garrison is up ahead.” Ryou said. “They amped up security after your escape, but its been over a full day cycle. It probably won’t be a problem.”

“Probably.” Keith muttered and Takashi laughed.

“Nothing’s for sure, but we’ll make it.” He gave Keith a grin so wide that Keith’s heart skipped a beat.

They moved quickly and quietly through the tunnels, though Keith kept glancing behind them. There was something down here, some pull of energy that he could feel radiating from the walls with the thrum of quintessence. A living power, something ancient and sleeping. It filtered through the machine in his ribcage, charging Project Zero like a battery. Keith rubbed his hand across his chest. It didn’t hurt, it just felt strange, a connection to this place he couldn’t understand. He thought that his dream of the Koryusai garden had brought him back through space and time, but maybe there was something else-

“We’re here.” Takashi whispered and Keith turned his attention to the thick security door in front of them.

“What if there’s guards on the other side? How are we getting passed them?” He whispered back.

“We’ll think of something.” Ryou took the key from Takashi’s hands and swiped the access lock. “If worse comes to worse, we’ll make Shi hack into the system and set off the alarm.” The brothers looked at each other for a moment before bursting into muffled laughter.

“Yeah, if you want us to short out a fuse for the entire city!” Takashi snorted. “There’s a reason I’m a pilot, why don’t you hack into the security system?”

“With these hands?” Ryou wiggled his fingers. “These are surgeon’s hands, I don’t do high voltage.”

They shared a smile that Keith didn’t quite catch, but that was secondary. “I could do it,” he said, serious enough to make both Koryu turn towards him. “I can short out any system you need me to. Inorganic parts are surge compatible and replaceable.”

Something flickered across Takashi’s features, too fast for Keith to catch, but when he spoke, there was an edge to his tone. “It won’t come to that. Come on.”

There was one last moment of hesitation, then Ryou swiped the security pass. The doors lit up, activated by quintessence so the very metal seemed to glow, then they pulled apart. The lights beyond activated, bathing the bay in soft light. On either side of him, Keith felt Ryou and Takashi react in the same way. Muted expressions of awe and humility and the most honest form of hunger as the Freedom came into view. Sleek and polished, the pinacle of Koryu technology, and they hadn’t gotten over their wonder. But Keith felt something completely different.

Keith felt like he’d come home.

“I’ll get the gateway. Takashi, start us up.” Ryou ordered, but his voice was still just on the edge of hushed. Takashi nodded, rushing them over to the ship’s flank, Keith hot at his heels.

“It’s like nothing I’ve ever flown before.” The Koryu gushed. “Everything about it is just smooth, like there’s nothing holding you back and-”

He froze, because Keith had reached out, activating his ship with an easy familiarity, and he huffed, a little more possessive than he wanted to be.

“I know.” Keith said. “The best pilot I’ve ever met taught me how to fly it.”

“You can fly it?” Takashi was stunned an alien would be able to make a connection with the living ship to be able to pilot it. Or maybe he shouldn’t be surprised. Keith could make himself look like a Koryu and he’d been able to connect with Takashi too. If he’d let another person touch the Freedom’s controls, they must have been good friends indeed. It wasn’t the first time Takashi wondered just  _how_  close they’d been.

Takashi touched the hull of his ship reverently, feeling the spark leap to his fingers and smiled. Even if someone else had flown her, the Freedom was his. This was his dream, his entire life, everything he’d worked and sacrificed for. Somehow, they would find a way to make this work and convince his people of the threat. Ever since he’d seen the stars for the first time, he knew he’d never be satisfied living behind their bubbles, pretending the universe didn’t exist.

“Come on. If you know my ship, then check the engines while I start launch procedures. We’re gonna need to haul ass out of here once the docking clamps are released, there’s no hiding that.” He said, stepping onto the Freedom and pausing just look enough to fill his lungs with the scent of his ship.

Beside him, Keith caught his breath. The garden was in full bloom as bright strands of quintessence gathered over the small pond and reflecting off the surface of the water. This was where he belonged.

Woven among the familiar flora of the ship were species he’d never seen before. The little bird-creatures moved in such heavy flocks that they looked like a wave of iridescence, flickering across the ceiling and walls, so thick Keith couldn’t see through them. Even in the beginning, Keith had only seen the Freedom while it was dying. It was just another thing worth fighting for.

He did a quick run through of the engines, ignoring the sharp pang of regret that twisted in his gut when he realized how little needed to be done. “All set to go,” he said, activating the ship’s communication link. “Last chance to back out. I promise I won’t hold it against you.”

Takashi laughed, light and airy like Keith had just dared him to fly. “How about you just worry about catching my brother?”

The engines came to life with a powerful whirr, so familiar it made Keith’s breath catch. Then suddenly, the side of the engine room opened, an emergency exit that Keith knew only too well. The sound of alarms and sirens blasted through, just as Ryou  _threw_ himself through the opening.

“Okay, they definitely know there’s a problem!” Ryou yelled as the door slid shut behind him. “Go go go go!”

“Everybody strap in!” Takashi ordered, but there was breathless excitement in his voice as if this was all some game. With the adrenaline pounding in his ears, Keith couldn’t help but laugh. The ship responded to Takashi’s hands like it had been made for him, or more likely, he had been made for this. He grinned as he revved the engines and sent the ship blasting straight up into the air, slamming them all back into their seats with enough force that black spots danced in the corners of Keith’s eyes.

The crystalline cockpit gave them all a perfect view of the planet falling away beneath them, unbroken wastes and dark storms covering most of its surface. But across the emptiness were bright spots of light, other cities protected from the harsh, toxic environment scattered across its surface like jewels. Then the atmosphere fell away into the blackness of space and the two brothers couldn’t help but stare. No matter how many times they’d done this, it was always beautiful.

Takashi whooped as Ryou squeezed his shoulder with pride. “Did you see that? They couldn’t touch us.”

“Pretty good flying there, hotshot. Even Captain Hiratoshi would be proud, after she got done killing the both of us.”

“What about planetary defenses? Is anyone coming after us?” Keith asked, searching for any sign they were being followed.

“No, we don’t have any planetary defense systems and any ships they can send are short range. Once we’re out of the solar system, they’ll have to turn back. Besides, they’ve got nothing on the Freedom’s speed.” Takashi ran his hands possessively over the controls. “She’s unique. There’s no one up here but us.”

When he looked up into the stars, his expression was glorious. It wasn’t the first time either of the Shirogane brothers had been into space, but it was the first time they would be going beyond their backyard.

It was amazing.

Keith didn’t want to look away, watching as Takashi closed his eyes, like he could feel the starlight on his skin.

 

* * *

 

_–Begin Recording?—_

_> >Yes_

The screen flickered to life on Keith’s face as he fiddled with the controls before noticing the camera was on. He smiled weakly with a little wave before sitting back in his chair. Behind him, the familiar walls of the Freedom glowed gently as the night cycle blooming flowers opened, casting a ghostly light across the room.

“Hi. Uh. I know that recordings were always important to you and I-, I felt like I should save something. This time. It’s all I have from before. Maybe this time, they’ll help you.”

He took a shaky breath as he folded his hands in his lap. “I wasn’t ready to keep trying, Shiro. I thought I was everything was going to end, I was ready to tear the universe apart because it means nothing if you’re not in it. Now I’m…here.  And there’s a second chance to make things right, and I-I, I have no idea how. How do I fix this? How do I do anything without you? I barely know who I am and I’m lost.”

Keith muffled a sob and put his head in his hands, body shaking as he gave himself over to the grief he’d been keeping inside for so long. For Hunk and Lance, for Pidge’s bravery, for the Blades who’d died with them. For Shiro fighting until the very end against impossible odds just to find him again when anyone else would have run. He sobbed for a life lost and memories that had never happened. They’d given so much to try and save him, and no one would ever know of their sacrifice.

Except for him.

He cried until he was empty, wiping the tears on the sleeve of his borrowed Koryu uniform. Keith’s face was blotchy red, but he steeled himself, staring into the camera with a zealot’s fire behind his haunted eyes.

“I’ll find a way, I promise you. It’s my turn to sacrifice for all of you. I’ll find the Paladin, fix Pidge’s virus, and we’ll try again before any of this happens. I will do whatever it takes.” His promise sounded like a threat.

Keith reached for the control to turn off the camera and hesitated, his Koryu ears drooping as he softened. When he spoke, his words were little more than a fragile whisper. “I’m going to miss you, Shiro.”

_–End Recording—_

 


	21. Chapter 21

Ryou cleared his throat. “Not to break up the party or anything,” he drawled. “But where are we going?”

“Balmera Prime.” Keith said without hesitation, and both Koryu turned to stare. They may not have known a lot about the galactic community, but even they knew about the capitol of the Galactic Coalition. Keith had had time to think it over. Tracking the Paladin down had always been a struggle, but this time, he thought he knew where one of the Resistance’s top officers was located.

“Are you sure about this?” Ryou asked. “You still haven’t told us everything. Who’s this Paladin? What Resistance!”

“The Resistance is the- they’re fighting the Galra. They’re the only ones willing to admit there’s a war going on right now,” Keith said, scrambling to keep up with his own thoughts.

Takashi reached up and took his hand, and it was like being given a lifeline, guiding Keith into an explanation of the multiple parties that battled the Galra. “Because the Galactic Coalition still doesn’t want anyone to know it’s happening. Right?”

Keith exhaled slowly. When he pulled away, it was easier to smile. Takashi had a way of making him feel like that. “Right. There’s someone there who’s our best hope at finding the Resistance and the Paladin, they’re the only ones who can help us. We have to get there before the Paladin’s taken. That’s when it all falls apart.” He spoke with enough conviction that the two Koryu nodded.

“How much time do we have until the attack on Koryusai? We left them all alone with no way to protect themselves.”

Keith shifted uncomfortably as he looked out at the field of stars, Koryusai dwindling behind them into just another point of light. “A few months maybe, I’m not sure.” He admitted. “They attack while you were on your mission, sometime in the year you were gone. I need to get a better sense of when I am, I’m disconnected.”

“So you don’t even know when this attack is supposed to occur?” Ryou’s voice had an edge to it as he looked at Takashi, sharing something unspoken but that didn’t need a translator.

“I meant what I said! I’m going to stop it from happening, I’m going to fix everything. I just, I need a little more information first. We’ll figure it out.”

“Ryou, can you check the stocks?” Takashi said gently, breaking up the argument before it had a chance to start. “I think we were nearly provisioned already, but we might be missing a few critical things, especially in the med bay. Why don’t you go check it out while I get us out of the solar system and I can set our first jump, okay?”

Keith didn’t need telepathy to see that Ryou was being brushed off. The older Koryu sent them both a pointed look, but he turned away without fuss, squeezing Takashi’s shoulder one last time before heading towards the medical bay. Keith tried not to feel vindictive about it. Takashi’s frown told him he might not have entirely succeeded.

“Thank you,” Keith said, regardless.

Takashi nodded. “We’re fighting for our home. If there’s anything you can tell us… It would just help if we knew everything you did.”

“I know.” Keith was a little sharper than he intended, but his shoulders sagged and he scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know… We’ll find out everything we can. I wasn’t part of the original group that attacked, but I’ll figure something out. Where’s the nearest galactic port?”

Takashi didn’t look entirely convinced, but for the moment, he was satisfied. He reached out, running his fingers along the length of Keith’s arm to calm him. “FRN-388.”

Keith wanted to sink into that touch, Takashi could make the subtle reassurances hum through his bones without screaming the words. “I don’t know that port.” He admitted. “I’m not familiar with this part of space.”

“It was supposed to be our first stop on the mission.” Takashi gave him a small smile that felt like a blow to his heart. “We’ll get our bearings there, and then on to Balmera Prime.”

“Takashi, I-”  _I’m sorry_. It hovered on the edge of Keith’s tongue, a million apologies for ruining Takashi’s life while trying to save it, for taking away his dream and using it for war. For not being able to save him the last time. For never telling Shiro that he’d loved him.

For not being the man Shiro had known.

Keith pulled away before he gave too much away. He’d have to learn to be careful with two Koryu on board, it would be easy to share his secrets and there were parts of himself that Takashi didn’t need to see. “I’m going to go check the food stocks and make sure the quarters are livable.” He said, a little more roughly than he’d like, but Takashi let him go with a glimmer of sadness in the Koryu’s eyes. Keith didn’t deserve the pity. He was the one who’d damned them all.

The door slid shut behind him, leaving Keith alone in the hallway as he leaned against the smooth wooden wall for support. What the hell was he doing? He’d gotten Shiro off planet and Ryou as a bonus, he could keep the both of them safe. Going up against the Galra Empire was suicide, they’d learned that the hard way. He could take them both somewhere far away from the war, maybe save them from their own fragile organic bodies too. He could make them better, stronger, he could protect them in a way he could never have done before. Keith thought destroying the Galra would make him a hero, but there was no Keith. There never had been. The universe could burn for all he cared, as long as Shiro was safe.

He shouldn’t think like that, but it took him too long to remember why.

 

* * *

 

Keith found himself in the mess hall. The glassberries were ripening, and old habit had him collecting them. He heard footsteps approaching long before their owner made an appearance, but Ryou was still the last person Keith thought would seek him out.

“Hey, glassberries. They have a short season, you know.”

The doctor’s tone was carefully light, and his emotions masked with a polite sort of indifference. Keith couldn’t keep down his own twist of envy, mild thought it had been. He really was tired of screaming everywhere he went.

“I’ve heard.” He held out a bowl, popping one of the fruits between his teeth. “Are you looking for Shiro?”

The corner of Ryou’s mouth quirked as he found a seat and helped himself to a handful. “No, I know where Takashi is.” He corrected Keith mildly. “You know, these are his favorites. He’s the one who insisted that we include them in the garden even though they’re very finicky. Our engineer didn’t know if they’d be able to survive the quintessence engine.”

Keith curled his hands around the bowl. “They did. When I met Sh-, Takashi, they were still growing.”

“Sometime in the future where we’ve all be destroyed, and he’s the only one left.”

The Galra was silent, trying not to drown in a flood of grief.

“What happened to us?” Ryou asked quietly. “You’ve got a version for Takashi, but I don’t think you’d tell him things that would hurt him.”

Keith swallowed hard, trying to find his voice. “My people have a way to spread infection and take other species over. Make them mindless drones. Shiro escaped and fought for years to save as many people as he could. He was, he was sad. Lonely. The bravest person I’ve ever met in my life. He never forgot you or where he came from. Even when things were bleak, he kept hoping for something better.”

“That sounds like Shi.” Ryou sighed, worry settling in the pit of his stomach, heavy and solid. “I know that I didn’t trust you at first and I still don’t know what to make of all this, but I wanted to tell you that if we can save my home, then I’ll do whatever we need to. I’m on your side, we both are.”

He looked up at Keith with such earnestness that Keith felt a rush of shame. Maybe it was genetic. Maybe the entire Shirogane family just cared too much for their own damn good. “Thank you,” Keith whispered. “I just want you to get through this.”

Ryou laughed, but it was a tired little sound, a hint of exasperation slipping between them, and Keith knew without being told that it was because Ryou let him see it. “I appreciate that. It’s just hard to get my head around. We hardly ever spoke, but you and my brother… I’m worried about all of us, but he’s my brother and I don’t know you. I’m not sure what future you saw, but please help me keep him safe.”

“At what cost?”

Ryou’s eyes widened, but narrowed as his ears slicked back, reacting to the tension in Keith’s shoulders. “What are you talking about?”

“Takashi didn’t survive.” Keith wouldn’t think about it, not now, not when Shiro’s legacy surrounded them in the kindest ways, but his quarters were empty. No matter how familiar the room looked, it still didn’t feel like his. “Where I came from. He fought until the very end, but he just…”

Ryou reached out for him, drawing him in with a familiarity that Keith began to realize wasn’t unique to Shiro. Maybe all Koryu were like this, so used to building each other up when it was most needed. He closed his eyes, turning into Ryou’s touch. He still wasn’t entirely sure how to keep quiet, but he could feel the grief coming off of the other man, a sorrow for what hadn’t happened yet, underlined by steely determination. “It’s a war. If I can save him- you, all of you…”

_Should he?_

“There’s some things worth fighting for, I think Takashi would agree to that. We’ve never really be too concerned about safety.” He chuckled and stole another glassberry. “We were always kind of misfits, everyone at home was just glad to sit and grow things, we were the only ones who looked up. The ship’s named the Freedom for a reason.”

They didn’t know how bad it could be, Keith remembered what that felt like. Shiro had tried to warn him off, but he’d been so stubborn and dead set on staying no matter what the risks. He thought that he could make a difference, even though he had no idea how hopeless the war had become. Maybe he could keep them safe until they found the Paladin and stopped Project Zero from ever being built. Once they destroyed the weapon inside of him, they’d be free. Keith didn’t know if he could fight his own people, but he could do that much to make sure the universe survived while the Resistance and the Empire battled.

Maybe they could go back to Koryusai and have that garden. By then, Shiro might want to find a little peace and watch things grow.

“I’ll get you home again someday, I promise.”

Ryou smiled. “Yeah. But let’s just save the galaxy first.”

 

* * *

 

Traveling with one Shirogane had been interesting. Keith remembered those early weeks when it had just been the two of them, tense and silent, learning how to exist in the same space. They’d found a rhythm, training and teaching together until they’d become friends. With two Shiroganes, Keith didn’t stand a chance. They drew him in immediately, bickering and laughing and teasing like he already belonged. It was overwhelming, but no matter how they challenged each other or how they laughed, Keith had never seen anyone so focused. They took their responsibilities seriously, running the ship with skill and finding moments to meticulously record their research. Even as criminals, they thought about what information they could bring home to their people. No wonder they’d been chosen for their mission.

For about a week, they had showed up at the bridge just as the Freedom’s artificial dawn struck, manning their posts as if they had a commanding officer to answer to. Then one day, without warning, Takashi dropped into his seat, wrapped in a blanket, his hair uncombed and ears still fuzzy with morning fluff and eyes mostly shut. Keith walked into a wall.

Ever since then, things had been more relaxed around the ship. Keith learned more about the Koryu than he’d ever known. He marveled at their unique cities, each a world in its own right, admired their work in what the galaxy would call taboo technology, and tried not to take it personally when he found that most Koryu were as naturally affectionate as Takashi had been. They once spent an entire day telling old children’s tales and making Keith guess which ones they’d made up. They spent the entire day after  _that_ teaching Keith how to lie.

It was simple and satisfying in a way Keith was almost convinced he couldn’t feel, so when they finally arrived at FRN-388, it made something in the back of Keith’s teeth ache.

“Nice and easy.” Keith murmured. “Don’t overshoot your engines.”

“Were you always a backseat driver? I’ve done this before.” Takashi muttered, but the back of his neck had pinked.

“Yeah, but you haven’t actually landed in an alien port before.” Ryou leaned over the back of Takashi’s chair, frowning fretfully at the screen.

“Will you both stop?”

“Just take it slow through here. A little to the left.” Keith murmured.

Takashi bit back a sigh and ran his hands lightly over the control panel, feeling the Freedom leap to meet his fingertips. They’d trained so long for this that it felt like they’d been shaped for each other, a bond between his mind and the living ship. Energy hummed at his touch, ready and willing, like it was eager for the joke. Takashi couldn’t help but oblige. The Freedom banked sharply, throwing Ryou and Keith backwards onto their butts before leveling out like nothing had happened.

“You ass!” Ryou hissed without any real anger as Keith pulled himself to his feet with a rueful grin. When Takashi winked at him, it was Keith’s turn to flush pink. The ship landed so lightly that there was barely a bump as the landing gear descended and the pressure started to equalize. Takashi stood up and took a bow as his brother gave him a shove.

“Alright, showoff. Get yourself together, this is our first contact moment, even if it’s not sanctioned. We’re not disappointing all of Koryusai.”

“Second contact.” Shiro clasped Keith on the shoulder. “We’ve already met our first alien face to face.”

Keith cleared his throat and tried to ignore the squeeze in his chest. “We should still be careful, I don’t know this port. We’re just here to get information and get out, quick and quietly. No need to announce a new sentient species or anything, I’m going to guess we’re not dealing with the most trustworthy people this far out from the Core Worlds.”

“So no one’s buying a dome?” Ryou asked, tone perfectly deadpan, and Takashi snorted so hard his eyes crinkled. Keith stared them down until they quieted, the humor lost to him. Takashi at least looked apologetic.

“We’ll be fine.” Takashi promised, leaning in so he could bump his shoulder with Keith’s. “We won’t get lost or cause an intergalactic incident. I can keep Ryou on on a leash if you’re unconvinced.”

“Har. Har.” Ryou elbowed his brother, and left all of them tumbling forward.

Keith was far from convinced. If anything, that made the pit in his stomach heavier, but the more time they wasted, the closer the Galra got to Koryusai. “Just don’t do anything reckless.”

He was still in two minds about it as they disembarked, automatically hunching his shoulders and pulling his hood higher over his shoulders. He fell into the old habits that WSP-86 had taught him. And before that, the Galra empire. He tried to disguise the uniform of the Freedom’s crew. It wasn’t in a familiar style and certainly not Galactic Coalition regulation, but anyone wearing an insignia was automatically suspicious.

The Koryu gawked.

That wasn’t fair. They kept their heads down. They walked quickly. But every now and then, one of them would look up sharply, eyes a little too wide, ears a little too straight, his hand brushing against Keith’s arm, and Keith would feel a burst of awe. It was driving him mad.

They filed their paperwork for docking, which this far from the center of the galaxy meant sliding a couple of credits to the Terminal Master. Keith led them to a quiet corner, his eyes darting around furtively. “You guys stay here, okay? I won’t take long.”

Both Koryu protested at once. “We didn’t come all the way here just to wait behind. This is the first alien world we’ve ever been to, you expect us not to explore it.”

“Even if we don’t have our chief diplomat for First Contact, I can still catalogue any new species we encounter for the record.” Ryou argued, but Keith held firm.

“Just stay here.” He hissed, pulling a makeshift cloak around his borrowed uniform and tucking his furry ears under the hood. It would have been easier to change his shape, someone important had once told him that no one ever looked twice at humans, but Keith didn’t want to lose that ability to connect with Shiro. “I’m serious, this isn’t a safe place and we’ll be in and out. I’ll be right back.” Keith gave them both a long look to underscore his point before he turned back to the port and slipped into the crowd.

Even if he’d never been here, Keith felt like he knew this place. Every backwater world was the same, kept alive by the filth that trickled in from the space port. There was no law here, just refugees crammed together to fight for survival against the ones who’d exploit them for power. The strong preyed on the weak, but even as filthy and as cramped as it was, life found a way. He passed a group of Quvari children, laughing as set homemade robots against each other, little toys welded together from scrap and stolen wires. It reminded him so much of his orphans back on the WSP that his breath caught.

No, they were another thing that belonged to Keith and not to him.

It was hard to separate the two, his memories conflicting.  _He_ was beyond this place, disgusted at the organics crawling all over each other in a desperate and futile attempt to deny their fate. They were so afraid of becoming Galra, they had no idea the power and the peace that they’d find as part of the hivemind. They’d never suffer or starve or harm each other again. It was a gift to elevate them into something better than they could ever be on their own. And yet, Keith’s memories cut down that arrogance. Keith had done everything to save people from the Galra. Even if they were cruel and petty on their own, they deserved the freedom to choose.

It was enough to give him a headache.

He had to focus on the task at hand. They’re were flying blind into a war, looking for an elusive rebel leader that even the Galra elites couldn’t find and time was running out. Keith needed to know exactly when he was before they could act and bring the fragile strands of their plan together. The Paladin, the Holts, if he could get them everything he’d learned from their failure in the future, they might have a chance.

Keith tapped a command on his wrist device, double checking the files that could save the entire universe. He barely had a chance to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be before someone collided heavily against him, almost knocking him down.

“Watch it…” Keith’s translator couldn’t pick up the garbled slang, but he recognized the tone enough to know he was being cursed. With a final heated glare, the Unilu pushed past him again, this time with more intent behind his gesture, and Keith flustered, sneering down the back of the alien’s head. That clumsy oaf. Who the Hell did he think he was?

Keith was still fuming when he reached for his wrist, only to find it considerably lighter. His wrist display was gone, and when he turned around, the Unilu was already running.

“HEY!”

With a furious snarl, he turned, giving chase, but the thief was quick. He tore through the port like he had it memorized, cutting between corridors to find doors that Keith wouldn’t have even seen and leading Keith into the disorganized mess that was the makeshift refugee camp a floor below. He expected to lose Keith in it. He was good. Keith was just better.

As the thief turned a corner, sliding between the last of the abandoned intermodal containers that had been gutted to create houses, Keith snatched a laser blaster out of the harness of someone who definitely hadn’t paid for it. Without hesitation, he pushed it to its fullest strength and fired through the container. The blast sliced through the alloyed walls, sending the occupants inside it screaming, and hit the thief right between his many shoulder blades. The vessel’s inhabitants rushed out, torn between confusion and terror, and something twisted in Keith’s chest.

Never mind. His wrist display was his priority. Everything from his previous life was stored in its memory, all the recordings he’d translated from Shiro’s files, Pidge’s virus that never worked, schematics she’d pulled from Lance’s new body when she and Hunk had worked to modify him. The last remnants of a future that didn’t exist and the only roadmap he had to fix it.

The Unilu was trying to pick himself off the ground when Keith caught up, groaning with every move. Keith stepped on the singed burns across his back, pinning him in place as he reached out to take back what was his.

“Next time, you won’t be so lucky.” Keith rasped in Balmeran, making sure the Unilu understood every word.

The sound of a dozen blasters loading clicked in answer.

“How about you let my agent go now?”

Keith snarled and swing his blaster towards the voice, refusing to back down even if he was outnumbered. He aimed at the woman speaking, flashing his fangs as a growl rumbled from his chest. “Or he can give me back what he stole so I can leave without shooting you.”

The woman laughed, crossing her arms like she was unimpressed and tossing her long fair hair over her shoulder. It moved like thick snakes, one on either side of her head as she spoke in Balmeran for the gathered crowd. “If you can’t keep track of your own valuables while you’re here, then that’s not my problem. You really want this to get ugly?”

Keith swallowed a curse and slowly lowered his weapon as the thief at his feet scrambled up and raced to safety behind the woman and her goons. “I’m still gonna need that back, it’s not negotiable.”

“Everything’s negotiable these days, sweetheart.” She crooned. “You’re a pretty good shot, how about you do a little favor for me and I’ll see that everything gets returned to you in one piece?”

There wasn’t time for this, every minute was one closer to destruction. He had one chance to save Koryusai and any delay could be the difference between winning and failure. Not that he had much of a choice, he needed his wrist display back. “Depends, what do you need?”

“We’ve had a little problem with the customs enforcers who run the trade in and out of the port.” The woman said, her good mood fading with her smile. There was steel underneath, Keith could see it. She was someone used to dealing with problems and had the stomach to do what it took to survive. “It didn’t used to be so bad, a few pieces of cargo missing here and there. Everyone has to find a way to get ahead. But these days, it’s people disappearing. They took my partner, I need to get him back.”

“And you can’t do it because?” Keith drawled, hoping he looked bored at her story.

“Because they know me and my people, sweetheart, and they have a nasty habit of killing hostages when we get close. But you’re a brand new face that they’re not expecting. Besides, I think the ears are cute.”

Said ears flattened against his skull before Keith could help it, a hiss building in the back of his throat. The mercenary only smiled. “And if I say no?”

“Well.” She paused, as if thinking her offer over. “You can have your little toy back now, but I can’t guarantee it will work very well. Or you can have it later, all in one piece.”

It was almost enough to make Keith shoot, just for the hell of it, but she waved him off with a dismissive hand.

“Relax, hotshot. I won’t let your pretty face get bruised up. All you have to do is stop by the storage ports in Section 19. Pretend to be from the maintenance team, like you’re looking for a good bribe. Take a few pictures. Chat with the locals. I’ll draw you a map. Hell, I’ll even let you keep your gun. You’ll get both your device back and my good will. Around here, that can get you very far.”

“Let’s get this over with.” Keith said, ready to punch his way through her ranks if he needed to.

“Not so fast. You’re going to need a camera first.” She laughed, and one of her cronies stepped forward, offering Keith a standard wrist display. It was a couple of years older, but a quick check told him it had enough to do what she wanted. The map worked, too. Once he put it on, her entourage stepped back, carving open a path for him. It was almost polite. It still made him want to knock their teeth out.

“And don’t forgot. They better be good pictures.”

She was grinning as Keith walked away. It grated on his every nerve.

As soon as he was out of site, Keith double-checked the wrist display. It was almost blank, just contained the map and camera program he’d first noticed, and a couple of maintenance and translation programs that he didn’t think twice about. Then it beeped with an incoming message, and he found himself looking at the credentials of one ‘Tualek Clprog. Maintenance Engineer Subclass B.’ Keith didn’t like it.

What she got out of it, he wasn’t sure, but the map looked accurate enough. If he had to guess, he’d say it was a tracking program. He could get through her stupid assignment. Whatever. He’d breeze through it, or find something to use against her. Right now, he didn’t have enough leverage to demand his tech back. Until he found the opportunity to make his move, he was going to have to play her game. Keith didn’t expect to have to play for long.

He found Section 19 without a problem. Even if her input hadn’t been so helpful, the scorch-marked surveillance cameras would’ve told him exactly which side of the law he was treading on.

If Keith wasn’t sure before, he was now certain that he’d probably get shot at.

An unpleasant looking Betrid hung around the entrance to the storage port, trying and failing to look like anything other than a hit man. Keith didn’t know it then, but he was on a ticking clock.

Keith’s thoughts were decidedly more Galra. When he was done running errands for the wannabe criminal queen, he resolved to make her pay. He pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders and adopted a bored, cruel expression, unnerved with how easily it came to him. “I got a call.”

“What?” The Betrid squinted down at him menacingly as Keith sighed dramatically and flashed his credentials.

“Look, I’ve got electrical issues in Sector 12 and a cracked boiler in Sector 9 that I’ve got to take care of before I can clock out, I don’t have time to play ‘guess my work order’ with some horsefaced meathead.” Keith drawled with all the confidence of a contractor who knew their client had no other option if they wanted things fixed. “This inspection is mandatory, you know that that means? It means get out of my way so I can do my job and make sure this heap isn’t leaking toxic gas, so I can get out of here.”

“Gas?” Betrids weren’t the brightest species in the galaxy, but this one’s eyes lit with panic as he gestured Keith inside. “Just be quick about it.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Keith sauntered passed the guard, but didn’t breathe again until the door was shut behind him. Where had  _that_  come from? He shook off this discomfort and activated the holomap which flickered to life and showed an overlay of the enormous warehouse complex. For such an out of the way trading post, they managed to get a lot of traffic. The WSP couldn’t compare with this operation. Keith wondered if this was some major hub in the black market, it would make sense. With the war raging out along the fringes and the Galra moving closer, supply lines were never as reliable. And with the Galactic Coalition outlawing certain kinds of tech, those with money needed another way to get their hands on illicit goods.

This had been the Koryu’s first planned stop on their yearlong exploration mission? It was a good thing he’d left the Shirogane brothers by the ship, they could only have gotten into trouble here.

The map stopped, an indicator beeping softly and plotting out a path for him to take. Okay, take some pictures and get out. He hunched over and strolled through the stacks of stored goods, hoping that no one questioned him wandering unescorted.

He snapped pictures, caring very little about what he caught or how much was in focus. As he approached the storage office, he saw flickering lights around a corner. The sound of voices made his ears prick, long before anyone could come into focus. Keith should’ve left. Immediately even. But the worst sort of curiosity trapped him in place, and just as he turned to leave.

“Hey, what are you doing here!”

A gruff looking Antalian with some of the sharpest horns Keith had ever seen stormed up to him, their hoofs tapping across the dirty floor to an unheard melody. Keith squared his shoulders, his jaw tilted at a decidedly haughty angle. “Gas leak. Do you want this entire place to blow up?”

That was all he got out.

He felt it, more than heard it, sensing an incoming transmission the same way a human would have felt a butterfly’s wing against their cheek. Without thinking, Keith wrenched the wrist display off his arm and threw it as far as he could. When it exploded, it still sent him flying.

Suddenly the air was filled with laser blasts, and Keith was being surrounded on both sides. He was caught in a cross-fire, trapped between a wall of mercenaries and the occupants of the storage room. He dove for cover, heart still caught in his throat, but then he got up and started  _firing._ He made every shot count, leaving an entire defense line of crippled enemies.

Crippled but not dead.

The woman who’d sent him on this fool errand burst through the smoking hole in the side of the building with a whoop, her mercenaries cutting down any resistance. Keith snarled, baring his fangs as she smirked at him and winked. “Nice shot, handsome.”

“You set me up! You could have gotten me killed!”

“Now that would have been a tragedy.” She pouted her lips at him, gun cocked at her hip. “Oh don’t look at me like that, as if I’d trust a sensitive operation to a stranger. I just needed you to deliver my package.”

“That was going to blow me up!” Keith hissed.

“Oops?” She picked her way across the rubble as her heavily armed band fanned out, searching with targeted efficiency. They checked their wrist displays, honing in on some target that was worth Keith’s life. Whatever it was, Keith hoped she was going to choke on it. The moment he had a clear shot, he was going to take all of them down. No one  _used_  him, he wasn’t some worthless drone to throw away. They had no idea what fire they were playing with.

“Ma’am?” A ragged looking human called out to the woman. “They’ve moved the cargo, they must have already made the exchange.”

“What?!” For the first time, the woman seemed rattled and she grabbed the human by the front of his shirt, shoving him away so he stumbled. “No, I won’t accept that. He still has to be here. Find him!”

The human saluted, a sloppy jerky sort of thing that spoke more of fear than any military history. This time it didn’t seem to amuse his boss. “But we found Glyork. Got her just before she could get to her hoverbike.”

“Good.” A storm was brewing in her eyes, and she marched towards the central office.

“Hey! What about my tech!” Keith snapped. She didn’t even look at him. He had to jog to keep up. By the time he did, she had a terrified Antalian by the throat. Glyork towered over the blond woman, her horns decorated it what looked like sawed up bullets, but she still cowered as the mercenary dug her gun into the barrel of her skull.

“I told you not to mess with my people.”

“I had no choice,” the Antalian rasped, her eyes wide with fear. “We have quotas. Anything you could do, they would do to us tenfold.”

“ _Not Rolo_.”  

“Nyma, please!” The Antalian begged, but Nyma brought the butt of her gun down hard and knocked the woman out cold.

“Damnit it, damn it! Those cold mechanical bastards, I swear to the Light if they’ve hurt Rolo in any way.” She fumed.

“What the hell is going on? Who’s Rolo, what’s happening?” He said through gritted teeth, trying to put the name to the face, but his memories jumbled with Keith’s. Did he know them somehow? “None of this is my problem, just give me what’s mine and do whatever you want. I’m done.”

“Done?” Nyma laughed bitterly and tossed Keith his wrist device. He caught it with a scowl and strapped it back on. “You’re not done, sweetheart. If they took Rolo, then you’re going to help me get them back. I could use someone with your survival skills and I’m sure you’d be motivated to help me.”

“Like hell I am. You’ve wasted enough of my time!”

“If you want to run, then run fast. These bastards have let the devil into my station, like robots can be reasoned with, but I don’t think you’re going anywhere.”

Keith felt the blood drain from his face, the device in his chest burning against his ribs. “What makes you think I’m staying if the  _Galra_ are here?”

Nyma tapped a few controls on her own wrist device and brought up a holographic recording from one of the illegal surveillance cameras in the marketplace. “Because I have eyes everywhere in this city, and it looks like they took something of yours too.”

He stared in horror at the recording as Ryou and Takashi were ambushed, the two Koryu dragged away before the recording went blank.

Keith felt his blood run cold.

 

* * *

 

 

_–Begin Recording?—_

_> >Yes_

“The first time I saw you, you were already infected. It had spread so far and you’d been fighting it for so long, but the machine had become a part of you. You knew you were dying, I’m the one who refused to accept it.”

Keith sat in a chair in front of the camera, one knees drawn up to his chest. He tugged on his ear, playing with the furry point. “When I met you again, you didn’t even know what a Galra was. You had no idea what we’d done or what we were going to do. But then again, the first time I met you, I had no idea what the Galra were really like either.”

He sighed, resting his chin on his knee as he stared into the camera. “You fell in love with a human named Keith and after we found out what I really was, you still loved me. I don’t know how you could have looked at Keith after everything you’d gone through and still love him, you always cared too much about people even when you tried to convince yourself that you didn’t.”

“You loved Keith, but I’m not him. I can’t be him anymore. He never really existed.”

“Falling in love with you was so easy, but how can I ask you to be with me like this? You don’t know who I am or what I’ve done, and I can’t-, I don’t know how to tell you. Sometimes you look at me now the way that you used to before and I can’t lose that even if it’s not real. I could keep acting like Keith and lying about what I am, but for how long?”

Keith snarled, frustrated at himself for exposing too much. “I’m not the person you fell in love with before.”

“I wish I could be.”

_— End Recording —_


	22. Chapter 22

FRN-388 was amazing. It was like nothing Takashi had ever seen. He’d been on the United Metropolitan Space Station, the first landing on Aku-Shirunai, and had the most logged hours of any Koryu flying through electrostatic storms, but there was nothing quite like this. The colors were different, from the lights that hung over head to the tiles that lined the floor. Everything was louder, the voices from countless corners of the galaxy coming together so tightly, it felt like the little translator the Balmerans have given them couldn’t keep up. It blurred into background noise so complex, it could’ve made Takashi’s head spin, and yet there was a strange silence through it all, like he was listening to a conversation down the hall.

None of the aliens could speak to him, not really. It made him oddly sad. He could only hear his crew. His brother was actively trying to mask his excitement, but Takashi could see it in every twitch and smile. Keith was just feeling too much at once. He was quieter now after weeks of lessons, but still clear enough that Takashi could have picked him out across the room. His worry was the clearest. If Takashi could make him feel better, he would. All he wanted was to make Keith feel better.

“Just stay here.”

Takashi took it back. Keith was an  _ass._

“What!?”

“Are you kidding me!”

He and Ryou spoke up at the same time, arguments already interwoven in the spaces between their words. Keith either didn’t notice, or refused to.

“I’m serious, this isn’t a safe place and we’ll be in and out. I’ll be right back.” Keith gave them both a long look to underscore his point before he turned back to the port and slipped into the crowd, leaving both Koryu in stunned silence.

“We’re not actually going to stay here, are we?” Ryou leaned over into his brother’s space and whispered.

“Hell no!”

They shared a grin, one that had gotten them into trouble more times than they could count, and headed off into the crowd in the opposite direction from where Keith had disappeared. This was the first chance they had to see an alien world, and neither one of them wanted to waste it. Ryou recorded everything they passed, from the new species not identified in the Balmerans’ information guides, to the crowded shops of the marketplace that surrounded them, to the strange and unidentifiable goods being sold. This was an opportunity for posterity and he was determined to gather as much data as possible to be analyzed later. Koryusai needed to know about the galaxy outside of its small solar system.

For Takashi, all he could do was stare. He breathed deeply, trying to identify the strange scents in the air. New spices, strange foods cooking that actually made his stomach growl, body order from creatures that looked nothing like anything he’d studied before. One creature with what looked like crystals growing directly from its skin smiled at him, making some kind of gesture that he could only interpret as an invitation and Takashi nodded back, slightly disappointed that they didn’t stop to try and communicate.

It was busy and chaotic, a press of irritated spacers and merchants selling goods from a hundred worlds, their voices raised in a pitch that hurt his ears. It was everything he’d ever dreamed it could be and so much more.

“Please don’t flirt with every alien we see.” Ryou said aggrieved.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Takashi rolled his eyes at the lecture, but gave the crystalline creature a wink.

Ryou waited, letting his brother revel in his satisfaction, before dropping oh so casually, “What about Keith?”

It worked like a charm. Takashi startled, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. The worst part was that he knew Ryou used their friend against him, but it still caught him off guard every time.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ryou laughed. “Good thing I like my red tails kicking.” He drawled, just to watch the younger Koryu fluster.

“Shut up, okay. He’ll be back soon. We gotta hurry if you want to look around properly.”

But with the good came the bad. 

The deeper they went, the more noticeable the harshness of the space station became. On Koryusai, they were familiar with the struggles of limited resources. So much of their home had been built on living with nothing. It fed into the Koryu’s almost dogmatic sense of community. They were a success story. One born of blood and toil, but a success story nevertheless. It made seeing the sprawling refugee camps difficult, and made indifference impossible.

The suffering grated at Takashi, cutting deep. It went against everything his people were and everything they’d tried to be. The Koryu history was littered with violence and teetered on the edge of extinction for so long, they had to change. That kind of pain lived on in collective memories, passed on to each generation and the first to be etched into their skin so they’d never forget. He was a visitor here, he couldn’t help them.

“Are you two new here?” A voice called out and the pair stopped, looking up at a tall creature that looked almost Koryu except for strange blunted ears.  _Human_. Takashi thought, dredging up his pre-mission training on known Galactic Coalition species.  _Weird._ He was dressed in some kind of uniform, probably an official of the port. An authority figure, good! Maybe he’d be able to answer some questions.

Ryou looked absolutely delighted, studying the human like he was a new specimen. Takashi hoped his brother didn’t suggest a full physiological exam before they’d even gotten acquainted. “Is it that obvious?”

“You have that wide-eyed look a lot of the refugees have when they get here. It can be a little overwhelming sometimes.” The man said with a friendly laugh, holding out his hand in welcome. The Koryu just stared at it in confusion before he let it drop. “Er, I’m Frank. I’m one of the Customs Officers, it’s my job to help new arrivals get settled and to inspect any of the cargo that arrives.”

“Oh, we’re not traders.” Takashi helpfully corrected Frank. “We’re on an exploratory mission, we’re not going to be staying here long.”

“Unfortunately.” Ryou chimed in, his attention caught on some orange tentacle beast that slithered across the top of one of the food booths nearby. At least, he thought it was food? The Quvari behind the stall grabbed a wooden mallet and chased the slimy burbling creature, trying to smash it flat. Something squished loudly and the Ryou’s ears twitched as he tried to keep a straight face.

“We weren’t informed of a diplomatic meeting.” Frank said slowly, and the Koryu looked at each other. It was a wicked little thing, giving away none of their instinctive panic. Adrenaline and reckless decisions had always been their bread and butter.

“Nothing like that, we’re just passing through.” Ryou said easily.

“But we should be heading back to our ship.” Takashi added. “If they don’t find us, they’ll think we got lost. We’ve still got a lot of ground to cover.”

“Ah but you’re visitors then!” Frank said, looking so pleased that they had to smile with him. “I can’t let you go off without showing you what our little rock has to offer. We might be known for trading, but we have a few entertainments. Have you ever seen a wiggling Xebrud? We have a GC-certified fleet who are on tour.”

“What’s a Xebrud and why does it wiggle?” Ryou’s eyes grew wider and he flicked his ear at his brother. “I could get some scans?”

Now it was Takashi’s turn to roll his eyes, but he had been moments away from asking Ryou to go check it out and was glad his brother had suggesting it out. They were explorers, it was for science after all!

“Okay, we’re in.” Takashi said with a grin. “We just have to be back soon. Is it far?”

“Of course not!” Frank said with a flourish, gesturing down the street. “If we can get the word out to some visitors, maybe we’d be able to attract tourists to our little port instead of just traders. I promise it’ll only take a few minutes, you won’t regret it.”

The human chatted amiably, pointing out various points of interest as they walked down the narrow streets and the Koryu paid rapt attention. Even the most mundane aspects of this world were alien and they weren’t sure how they’d ever record all of their observations.

“Right in here.” Frank said, stopping outside of a low building. “Just tell them I sent you and they’ll waive the entrance fee!”

In retrospect, they were far too excited at the prospect of anything wiggling.

But they went down fighting.

 

* * *

 

Keith had a heart once. It was long ago. Years and years ago, long enough that even his memory banks could not pinpoint the exact moment he’d lost it completely. Time had chipped at its effeciency, and organic parts were meant to be replaced, until there was nothing left but a brutally dependable machine. It was never meant to falter, never meant to weaken. No matter what form he took, or what he’d meant to mimic, a part of him was always meant to remain consistent and true. To remain Galra. He remembered everything now. He knew what he was capable of, who he had been created to be. Yet the machinery seized, metal grinding against metal, coming to a halt that left his entire body frozen in agony.

Fear rose inside of him, a monster he’d never escaped, just out run. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Not now, not then. Shiro had years before he was supposed to meet the Galra, years before everything came crashing down. Keith was supposed to protect him! If he lost him, he’d- no. Not again. He couldn’t do this again. He couldn’t!

“Convinced now?” Nyma asked. “This is how it’s going to happen.”

“No.”

There was heat behind his eyes. Keith could feel it, different from the power that burned in his chest but no less destructive. Nails sharpening, bones twisting, he was slipping. He could feel it, but he didn’t care. No one would. He would tear the entire station apart with his bare hands to get them back if he had to. It wasn’t what Shiro would have wanted, but Shiro was the one who kept leaving.

“I need access to a communication port.” Keith continued. “It’s the only way to find them.”

Nyma’s expression hardened into a mask of cruel amusement that hid her uncertainty. “Know something about smugglers that you want to share?”

“Not smugglers.” Keith said. “Galra.”

 

* * *

 

“Shi! Come on, Shi, wake up.”

Takashi groaned, his head throbbing painfully as he tried to blink open his eyes. Beside him, Ryou gave a sigh of relief and gently worked his fingers against his brother’s aching skull. “Ryou? What’s going on?”

“We were ambushed like idiots. It doesn’t look like you’re too hurt, just a couple of bruises.” The doctor said, helping Takashi wobble up to his feet and blurrily look around the room.

“It feels a lot worse than bruises.” Takashi complained, but the rest of his words died in his throat as the world finally swam into focus. Other figures still lay prone around them where they’d been dumped, most looked like they were still breathing. The walls were a cold and dull metal, vibrations of an engine humming beneath their feet. Takashi could hear the sound of machinery around him and distantly, the sound of voices. They were on a ship who knew how far away from the space port! But that wasn’t the worst of it.

Glass tubes lined the walls, each large enough for a person to fit inside. In some, there  _were_  people, species that he recognized from his research. A few humans, a Quvari, an Unilu. He peered more closely at them in fascinated horror as tubes and wires snaked out of their bodies and a faint violet glow scrawled across their skin like a sick tattoo.

“They’re changing.” Ryou breathed next to him. “I can’t tell exactly what’s happening to them, but they’re not supposed to look like that. And I think we’re next.”

 This was the work of the Galra and what they planned for Koryusai? “We're getting off this ship and we’re taking everyone with us.” Takashi said so forcefully that Ryou believed him.

His brother’s confidence was almost enough to inspire his own, but it was an uphill battle. With every passing moment, horror dug its claws in deeper into his flesh as the magnitude of their crisis became clearer.

_Not too long from now, others like them are going to attack Koryusai._

For a moment, Takashi didn’t dare breathe, desperate to keep his fear private, like there was any hope of slowing his frantic pulse. One by one, he masked each of his mental signals, presenting nothing but cool composure. He’d always been good at that.

Takashi refused to believe that this had all been an elaborate set up, a means to reunite Keith with his advancing fleet and he refused to believe that Keith lied to them. All he could do was to move forward. Any other option left behind too many casualties, and as the blood drained from his face, and dark spots flecked across his vision, Takashi forced himself to inhale.

“Shi, wait-”

He’d barely taken a step forward before colliding with a solid blockade. The Koryu caught himself before he was knocked down, so shocked, his surprise screamed across the room, but only Ryou could hear. Shaking himself off, and taking a moment to do so physically as well, Takashi reached out slowly, flattening his palms against the shield he couldn’t see.

No, it wasn’t solid.

He could feel it pulsating at his fingertips, vibrating with power the way music could leave a speaker thrumming. It made the hairs on his arm stand on end. Now that he found it, he could see the faint tinge of color it left in the open air. An energy barrier then? But nothing like what they had back at Koryu. The source of this one didn’t feel alive.

“How do we get out of this one?” Ryou whispered.

Takashi didn’t answer, just looked back at the others who shared their cell. A few were beginning to stir, groaning and slowly sitting up as they looked around, just as confused as the Koryu were. Whoever had brought them here had managed to surprise them all. Not who. Takashi knew what these things were and a panicked sort of rage built up in his chest, a helplessness at being trapped.

“Go check on the others, make sure they’re okay.” He said with a gesture. Electronics had never been his specialty, he’d trained for flight not for hacking his way out of alien jails. Well, there was no time like the present to learn something new.

“Oh Light.” One of the other captives moaned, head in his hands. He was a strange looking alien, purple skin seemed almost rocky and he stared out at the glass tubes with despair. “We’re dead. Fuck, we’re  _worse_  than dead.”

“I’m not going to let that happen.” Takashi said simply.

“What the fuck do you know, fuzzy? This is a Galra ship, no one ever comes back once they have you.”

“If we’re going to get out of here alive, we’re going to need to work together. I’m Takashi, this is my brother Ryou. He’s a doctor, if any of you are hurt, he can help. The rest of you, are there any weapons or tools that you had when you were taken?”

The alien looked sourly at Takashi before rolling his shoulders unhappily. “M’Rolo. They jumped me out by the docks, I didn’t have much on me.” He pulled out a slim blade from the heel of his boot. “They missed that one.”

The others searched their pockets, adding to the dismal collection. Whoever had taken them had searched for any guns or obvious weapons, but it was enough. Takashi extended his claws and traced his hand lightly over the metal wall, feeling for the hum of energy beneath his fingertips. Finding the source, he dug his claws into the wall, metal screeching as he pulled it back. “Hand me the knife, I think I can overload the power. Just be ready for an alarm as soon as the force field goes down.”

“You think you can do that without blowing all of us up?” Rolo asked dryly.

“We’re going to find out.”

Rolo needed a second longer for the sentiment behind Takashi’s aggressively positive tone to set in, and he took an uneasy step back. Over his shoulder, Takashi caught his brother’s eye. This wasn’t going to be neat. This barely qualified as a good decision, and Takashi only guessed enough of the circuitry to assume he could break it. Right now, no one needed to know that.

Takashi took a step back and threw the knife. It embedded itself inside a metal panel, immediately setting the lights around it off like an explosion.

Then came the boom.

Takashi threw himself to the ground, but he still skidded across the floor. The sound left his ears ringing, so loud it as almost painful, but the barrier had flickered off and taken a fragment of the wall with it. He was still trembling as his brother pulled him to his feet, knees buckling under his weight, but he held firm. A room of shocked faces stared back at him, and before anyone could panic, Takashi took charge. “Everyone stick together, or we’ll get picked off one by one. Don’t take more than you can carry. Hurry. Can we broke open those glass cases?”

“Do you see the purple lines in them?” Rolo demanded. “There's no point.”

Takashi felt sick.

“I’ll take the rear.” Ryou said, almost too quick for Takashi to catch, and some of his panic broke free. It caught in his throat, burned like bile. Ryou looked back, concern etched across his face, just as clear as his own fears, but he wasn’t backing down. Takashi nodded and lead them down the hall.

There were no sirens that he could hear, but the sound of approaching footsteps reached them before they got down the corridor.

Takashi attacked in a whirlwind, claws cutting through metal and flesh. He launched himself from the wall with no weapons but his own body. He used the ship as a shield, cutting through wires to electrocute his foes as the surprised drones twitched and fell. The other prisoners shrunk back in fear like they were afraid to even touch the Galra, unsure if they’d be infected by just being so close.

It didn’t seem like Takashi noticed, hands covered in blood and thick, black oil. Bolts of energy scorched the wall beside him as he rolled and dodged the incoming fire, cutting through a drone’s legs. He grabbed the gun and cleared the hallway, sending the drones sprawling with smoking holes in their heads.

“Come on!” He snarled, gesturing to the rest of the prisoners who followed behind.

Rolo grabbed another weapon for his own, glancing furtively around in case they were attacked again. “We’re gonna die here, there’s no way they’ll let us off the ship.”

“We’re not asking their permission.” Takashi growled. “There has to be some kind of emergency escape pod or something. If we can get to that, maybe we can program it to make it back to the port.”

“Are you crazy? If we launch a pod, they’ll just blow us out of the sky! We’ll be sitting ducks, there’s no way that’ll work.” Rolo complained.

The Koryu looked at each other, reaching out to speak through conflicting emotions.  _You can’t. I have to. Not alone. They need you more_. They stared at each other, willing the other to bend before Ryou’s ears flicked and he finally sighed. “Just come back, okay?”

Rolo looked at them both like they’d grown a third head. “What are you doing?”

“Find the escape pod and get ready for launch. I’ll get to engineering and disable their weapons.” Takashi ordered.

“Do you want to die!?” Rolo exclaimed, eyes so wide they looked like they would pop out of his skull, and Ryou snarled at him, harsh enough to make the spacer recoil.

“Go.” Ryou said, and somehow managed to make it sound like a threat. “Don’t keep us waiting too long.”

Takashi sent him one last grin before taking off. He made no promises. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, his body a tight coil of tension, ready to duck and dodge at the slightest sound. It felt like the world was closing in around him, the halls stretching on in every direction, as he raced through the enormity of his decision. There was too much at stake to consider failure, but the ship was alien in every sense of the word. There had to be some kind of logical make up to the ship, he just had to-

A blast sent Takashi flying as the entire ship tilted sideways. He slammed into the wall, hard enough that spots bloomed across his vision, and the hall flashed purple before he could pick himself up. He threw himself to the ground, missing laser fire by the tips of his ears. They poured in from a door on the far end of the hall, the sound of a rumbling engine stronger for a moment.

Takashi gritted his teeth. Then he lunged himself into the fray. He was outnumbered, but used the confined space to his advantage.

Everything became a weapon if it was close enough at hand. He grabbed one of the Galra’s guns and turned it on its owner, shooting through the drone’s chest and using its body as a shield to take down three others. More swarmed in the corridors, communicating in a way that Takashi didn’t understand. They moved like liquid, no one leader giving orders. Whenever one fell, more would take their place. Some of them seemed almost alive, species he recognized and a half dozen that he didn’t. Others had been eaten away by the deep purple glow that crawled across their body like living machinery.

A blast went wild, one of the Galra firing across the room as he was cut down. The bolt of energy hit one of the empty glass tubes embedded in the wall and sent sharp shards in every direction.

Takashi didn’t register the pain at first, just warm wetness running down his face. The taste of metal, thick and heavy, choking him as he struggled to breathe. The pain came a half-second later, sharp and agonizing, sliced deep to the bone. He doubled over, feeling sick as he pulled the razor sharp piece of glass deep from his face, fingers slipping in the curtain of blood and making it difficult to find a grip. Blood filled his mouth, his nose, bubbling as he tried to suck air around it. His head spun as he stumbled back, trying to refocus.

 _Find engineering, destroy the weapons controls_. Takashi took advantage of the chaos and ran.

The drones had lost their synchrony, left disorganized by conflicting orders in the face of a hostile combatant and a greater threat to their ship. Takashi cut them down, taking easy shots where he could, but his priority was the door. He slipped through with wild laser fire chasing after him. He stopped only long enough to throw his weight behind a large metal cannister. What it contained, he didn’t know, but it dropped in front of the doorway and wouldn’t budge.

Then Takashi turned around, and gasped.

He had to be in some kind of operating room, though what it controlled he wasn’t sure. Long panels of blinking purple lights covered the walls, while others rose before him like stairs. Images projected above them, a thousand different commands at his fingertips, and he couldn’t take advantage of any of it. This could have been their cafeteria for all he knew, but he didn’t think so.

A wave of dizziness washed over him, the skin of his cheeks tacky with blood, and Takashi swiped at it absently. He was panting, breaths coming in uneven rasps.

There was no time.

He raised his gun. Takashi didn’t need to aim, he just needed to fire, and when the closest console went up in smoke, something in his chest eased. No matter what happened next, he’d come this far. He did it again, and again, trying to do as much damage in as little time as he could, when the ship suddenly lurched. Somewhere there was a crash! Metal bent and lurched, as wires came undone and machinery pulled free. When the drones burst in, he never had a chance.

He turned just as a blast caught him in the shoulder, and all Takashi knew was pain. He tried to scramble, arms trembling, burning effort. There were too many of them, too many to fight. Takashi ducked behind a damaged console, but they had him pinned down.

All at once, every Galra drone  _collapsed_.

Keith had stepped from a nightmare, the pretty façade ripped away to expose the alien that lurked underneath in the hole the Freedom had melted through the ship's hull. He was Galra, though different from the others, but his eyes blazed that same unforgiving yellow. He snarled a command and the drones twitched and writhed at his feet, almost like they were in pain. His lips curled in a cruel smile like he almost enjoyed it and power radiated from him so strongly that even Shiro could feel its electricity running down his skin.

Another blast followed, and a ragtag group of mercenaries poured down the hall of the ship. They stopped in horror when they saw Keith, scurrying back with weapons drawn but unsure if they should aim them at the monster in their midst.

This was the truth, feeding on the fear of those around him. As awful as the drones had been,  _this_  was a Galra and Takashi felt his guts seize in terror. This was the thing that was coming to destroy his home and everything he loved.

But their eyes met and Keith faltered, something flickering in his soulless eyes. Then he was stumbling across the smoking, burning wreck of the room to grab onto Takashi. The silence of his touch shocked the Koryu for a moment, but there was nothing but worry in his voice.

“-shi, are you okay? We need to get you to the med bay!”

Keith connected slowly, like he was running a hand up Takashi’s arm, drawing him closer through their mental bond. Worry and fear flooded in, softened by quiet reassurances and the hurt Keith couldn’t quite hide. He was holding almost all of Takashi’s weight, and the Koryu didn’t try to fight it.

“Just hold on. Please, please just hold on.”

Takashi managed a smile, and it pulled everything so sharply that his breath caught.

“Don’t tell Ryou. He’s going to be so mad.”

Takashi didn’t hear Keith’s answer. He needed to close his eyes for a little while.

 

* * *

 

Keith hid behind his Koryu shape, but he could feel the way the others looked at him. Nyma’s team was glad they’d won and had rescued their friend, but they knew the truth about Keith now. Even if they reluctantly accepted that he wasn’t an enemy, having a Galra elite in their midst put everyone on edge. Worse, he’d seen that same fear reflected in Shiro’s eyes. Takashi might not know the Galra like he once did, but he recognized the threat that lurked inside.

It was that look that Keith had hoped he’d never see, but it was impossible to deny what he was. Just like it was impossible to change anything.

The deep gash across Takashi’s face was bandaged, but Keith knew how it would heal. He’d traced his fingers across Shiro’s scar enough times to memorize it, a mark with a story as distinct as any of the tattoos. He’d traveled through time, he’d already changed the past, but Takashi wore Shiro’s scars and it was only a matter of time before the rest followed. Fate was mocking him. Even if he could change things, it would somehow end the same way. He wouldn’t be able to save anyone.

“That’s the last of them.” Ryou said, as the rest of the prisoners were finally patched up. There had been too many close calls, too many scars that would last. One of the Quvari wouldn’t be able to walk without a limp ever again. Then there was Takashi. “What now?”

Takashi never knew when to quit. He was still standing, held together by pure stubbornness at this point and looking terribly pale beneath his bandages. That wasn’t enough to make him slow down. “There were people back at the holding cells.” Takashi reminded him. “Keith, can you help us get them out?”

It shoudn’t have surprised him to be addressed directly, but it did. Shiro had never been afraid of the things that should’ve scared him. Keith should’ve known that Takashi would be the same way. Rolo still answered before he could.

“Hate to break it to you, fuzzy, but they’re already dead.” There was no harshness in his voice, just a tired sort of resignation. “Once the Galra get their hooks in you, there’s no turning back.”

Takashi frowned, even if it pulled on his bandages. He was already gearing up for an argument when he turned to Keith, but Keith only shook his head. Takashi was surprised.

“They’re right. We never found a cure.” Keith admitted. “We got close, but…”

“We.” Nyma snorted, shaking her head. She’d held command through the entire mission, from the moment Keith pinpointed the Galra up until the ship was subdued. It was a bigger feat than most military commanders ever managed. “You’re telling me there are more people like you, just waiting to burst out of the woodwork?”

There was an edge to her tone that ground into Keith’s nerves, but he held his tongue. There were too many people watching, and there was a part of him that didn’t want to blame her. “Yes. There are people out there still fighting. Right now, it’s what we need.”

Nyma quirked an brow, turning to face him fully. “I’m not here to play hero, sweetheart. I protect what’s mine, and I got the scum off my doorstep. I’d say that’s good enough for a day’s work.”

Keith narrowed his eyes and the drones at his back shifted in response. Everyone took a step back nervously, hands hovering near their weapons. “They’re not going to hurt you, I’ve disabled their receivers. They won’t react to anyone’s commands but mine.” He snapped, though for just a moment, Keith wanted seize control of the drones and put the fear of the Galra in these loudmouthed mercenaries, but he swallowed his anger. “Feel free to protect your backwater corner of the galaxy, when the Galra finally come for you, there’ll be no one left to stop them. What are you going to do, send them more tributes for them to infect? Keep doing what you’re doing, I’m sure that’ll work out fine.”

“It works.” Rolo snarled. “It kept the Galra out of our home.”

Nyma turned on her partner, smacking his arm hard. “Did it? It got  _you_  taken, if we hadn’t gotten here in time, you’d be just as mindless as them!” She gestured towards the drones. “The Prince keeps getting closer to our home, it’s only a matter of time before they decide it’s easier to take us all or to wipe us out completely.”

Rolo huffed irritably, but he knew better than to argue. The Koryu exchanged a look, their own planet hanging in the balance. “You said we were close to a cure.” Ryou asked, trying to cut through the tension. “If I could study the infection in your…ah, drones, maybe I could figure out how this works. I could develop some sort of way to reverse it or at least a vaccine against it?”

“You did once.” Keith whispered, and his ears flattened as everyone in the hall turned to look at him with renewed interest. “I- I’ll tell you later. It doesn’t matter. But I think it’s time you go back to Koryu.”

“Keith!” Takashi protested, taking a step forward, but he stopped with Keith turned to him, his gaze hallow and resigned.

“This is more dangerous than any one of us planned for. I thought, I thought taking you away from it all would keep your safe. I’m sorry.” He could feel the outrage and worry coming off of them, either too honest to stop themselves or intentionally expressing, Keith appreciated it either way. “Go back home. Warn them. Save your planet. Someone has to. It sounds like something a Shirogane would do.”

Takashi frowned, expression stormy with all he couldn’t put into words, and for a second, he looked so much like the man Keith knew that Keith had to move away.

“What about us?” One of the other prisoners yelled, a tired looking Betrid, still holding her injured arm at an awkward angle. “I cannot go back to FRN. Not after this. What else is there?"

“You could come back with us, my people would give you a safe place to stay.” Ryou said, watching Keith carefully. “If we almost found a cure before, we could take this ship and the drones, provided we knew they weren’t going to harm us. Maybe I could find a way to reverse their infection and save the ones still in the tubes.”

Keith nodded miserably. It was the smart move. Ryou had managed to find a way to slow the infection down for a decade or more, even if it only worked on his own people, it would protect them when the Galra came. And it would protect Takashi more than he ever could. Their first stop from Koryusai and Takashi had already been taken by Galra, it had been too close a call. He could have been infected so easily and it would have all been over. He already wore the scar across his face like Shiro had. Time travel was impossible, maybe this was just the universe reasserting itself to show Keith that everything he did to change the future was useless.

“Going to an alien world? I don’t know.” The Betrid sounded uncertain, but Ryou just offered her a smile.

“My people would welcome you, and there’s no Galra on our planet.” Ryou said. “And it would prove everything about why we left. The Council of Cities would have to listen to us, the truth would be staring them right in the face.” He gestured towards the drones. “We could be reinstated. We’d be returning as heroes!”

Keith gave a pained smile. “As long as you don’t try to just sneak onto the planet, they’re perfectly nice.”

“You can’t really be serious about leaving us behind, can you?” Takashi leveled an unreadable look at Keith, who kept his distance in case his emotions betrayed him.

“Your brother is right, you could be reinstated just like you wanted. And I, I’ll be fine. I’m sure that Nyma wouldn’t mind giving me a small ship after everything I’ve done for her just so she’ll get rid of every Galra on her station. You’ll be better off at home, helping your people.”  _And away from a monster like me._

Takashi looked mad enough to argue, so Keith turned away from him, just as Nyma clicked her tongue, apparently considering.

“If it will guarantee you’ll be gone, sweetheart, I think I can manage something.”

“Hey, how do we even fly this thing?” Someone yelled. It was enough to get everyone talking. Keith let himself be pulled into the crowd, generously offering to explain how Galra scout ships operated. The prisoners and mercenaries alike were fascinated. It was taxing and annoying at best, but it kept Takashi at a distance, and for now that was good enough.

“You’re going to have to talk to him eventually.”

Unfortunately, it didn’t work on every Shirogane, but Keith had planned on eventually cornering Ryou, so he could pretend that was intentional.

“I’ll say goodbye before you guys leave.”

“Does he want to say goodbye?”

Keith knew the answer to Ryou’s question, he’d seen how Takashi looked at him now. “I have something for you.” He said, refusing to answer as he typed out a command on his wrist device and pulled out a small data stick. “There were recordings from… before. From when I met Takashi. It’s what happened to your crew and to him. It-, it’s hard to watch.” Keith’s voice cracked and he shoved the data stick into Ryou’s hand.

The doctor curled his fingers around the small device, briefly awestruck to hold hidden messages from his future self. “Why are you giving this to me?”

“Because you were close to a cure. If anyone could find a way to stop the Galra infection, it’s you. You left your old notes… It’ll be a better starting place so you don’t have to waste time, we don’t have much as it is.” Keith swallowed hard and looked over at Takashi who was going over the ship’s controls with its new crew. “Just don’t show him until you’re back on Koryusai, okay?”

It was a suspicious warning, but Ryou had no choice but to agree. He felt like he held the future in his hands, not just a future that had been, but one that could be. The possible salvation of his entire world carried back to his people, not as a criminal and a traitor, but a hero. “He’s not going to want to be left behind.”

“He does now. He knows what I am.”

“You’re underestimating my brother.”

“At least this way, he’ll be safe.”

Ryou fixed him with a peculiar stare, his emotions and thoughts masked so muh that it almost felt like he wasn’t Koryu. It made Keith uneasy, something in the pit of his stomach shifting, and it felt too much like guilt for him to trust. Then without warning, Ryou pulled him in, embracing him tightly. He rested his forehead against Keith’s, and a wave of warmth and hope washed over him, a rush of camaraderie that left Keith speechless.

“Be safe.” Ryou said. “When you come back, we’ll show you what Koryusai really has to offer.”

“I’d like that,” Keith whispered, because he couldn’t promise anything else, and he thought about the last crew that had made him one of their own, and all the goodbyes they’d never had. He held on as tightly as he dared, exhaling in a rush. Ryou offered him one last smile, before heading back down to the Galra work stations that he’d claimed for himself. In a way, Keith hoped that the Koryu would never meet the Galactic Coalition. The galaxy couldn’t possibly be prepared for their daring.

There was one more goodbye to make. There was no point in trying to brace himself. Keith knew he’d never be prepared.

He heard Takashi before he saw him, in the hangar of the Galra ship. He was surprised to find that he wasn’t alone.

“You’re kidding yourself if you think that’s enough, sweetheart.” Nyma scoffed, but there was no real heat behind her words. Takashi didn’t shy away from it.

“I’m not saying it would be, but if we don’t, who will?”

“You have no idea what you’re asking. I just got him back and you want me to throw myself into the line of fire again?” She crossed her arms and glared at him, but Takashi seemed impervious to her charms.

“I know exactly what I’m asking you. I saw those things, I know what they can do. My home is in danger, what makes you think yours isn’t?” He met her gaze, unwavering. “As frightening as they were, you risked everything to save him, you could do the same thing to help others.”

“What’s the reward in that? I came after what’s mine, that doesn’t mean I want to risk my own ass in a losing battle for a stranger.”

Takashi offered her a small smile. “If you don’t, how long until there’s nothing left that’s yours? You could make a difference.”

She muttered something that Keith couldn’t hear, even with his Koryu ears, and he had to smile. Shiro hadn’t been off planet for more than a few weeks and he was already inspiring people to be better versions of themselves. Keith wasn’t sure how he did that, but it was as natural as breathing. It was nice to know that he’d always been that way, believing there could be something good in anyone despite their flaws. With a soft groan, Keith pressed his hand against the ache in his chest and slunk away.

That last goodbye was too painful to face.

 

* * *

 

Lights streaked across the night sky over the spaceport as Keith watched them disappear against the stars. It was easy to imagine them as the newly liberated Galra droneship and the Freedom, piloted by two brothers back to their distant home. But imagining was all it was, the two ships had departed long ago and Nyma’s crew had reluctantly brought him back here, too eager for him to leave. He’d missed the actual launch, hiding himself away on her ship, too “busy” to take the time.

Too afraid to see that look of fear and revulsion in Takashi’s eyes.

It didn’t matter in the end. Keith knew Takashi was never going to forgive him now, but if Takashi could live a long, fruitful life nursing that grudge, then that was good enough. And after few hundred more repetitions, Keith was sure he’d be able to convince himself, too.

At least he had a distraction. Keith would need all his focus to keep the rust bucket Nyma had left him with stable. He’d never seen so many uneven rocket guards on a single ship. It didn’t look like a single pair matched. He could probably get it airborne, but there was no telling for how long or for how far. She really just wanted him off FRN-388. Apparently being scrap metal in its outer atmosphere was good enough. Fine. Keith would just hijack another ship later, or minimize his hyperjump distances, or something. He had to find a way. It was all up to him now, and he wouldn’t let anything like a stupid ship get in his way.

“Wow, that’s a wreck.”

Keith’s breath caught in his throat, but he was spinning on his heel before common sense could catch up, moving so quickly he nearly knocked himself off balance. Because Shirogane Takashi was there, his hands in a jacket that had two pairs of sleeves and was falling off his shoulders, practically radiant with smug satisfaction, his hair chopped short and uneven, the longest strands just curling at his nape. He scratched the back of his head, almost absently.

“I had something planned to say, but you have to say something first.”

“SHIRO!”  

“Were you really going to let me leave without saying goodbye?”

Keith found himself in a crushing hug, the bond sparking between them in a flood of emotions so loud that Takashi couldn’t help but laugh. He’d been so afraid Takashi would see him as a monster, but all he could feel was relief and determination. “You know, I think I might use that name now. It’ll be nice carrying a piece of my home with me now that I’m the only one out here.” Shiro said.

“No!” Reality snapped back and Keith shoved him away, trying to keep the tears from falling and giving everything away. “You were supposed to go back with them, you can’t be here! I didn’t want you here, you have to be safe. I-I can’t…”

“I’m right where I’m supposed to be.” Shiro said gently.  _Shiro_.  _His Shiro_. The ghost of who he could become hovered over the bones in his face and Keith didn’t know whether to celebrate or to be terrified. “I’m not letting you do this alone. We’re partners, remember?”

“I’m Galra.” Keith protested, but weakly.

“You’re Keith.”

He’d thought that before too, when Keith had feared the memories that had been locked away. He’d never given up on that, even when Keith lashed out, confused and split between who he was and he who wanted to be. Shiro had believed in the heart of him without wavering. Keith reached out and carefully touched the end of Shiro’s hair, still dark but for how long until his unavoidable fate changed that too? “You cut it.”

“Yeah. Guess Ryou won.” Shiro smiled and there was a sadness to it that Keith wished he could wipe away. “I, um, I needed a new start for a new mission. I knew things were serious, but seeing it with my own eyes was harder than I thought it would be. We have to stop them and I’m ready to do whatever it takes. But with you, Keith. We do this together.”

Together. Anything was possible with Shiro at his side.

 

* * *

 

_–Begin Recording?—_

_> >Yes_

Keith crossed his arm and scowled at the camera, silence stretching out for an uncomfortable length of time. Finally, he sighed.

“I’m not good at this. I don’t know what to say, I never do. That’s always been the thing you do. Or that you did.” He rubbed his fingers against his temple. “This time traveling stuff is hard. I don’t know how much of you is actually you, and how much is the person I remember you used to be. Is there even a difference? I barely know what I’m supposed to be anymore, everything I thought I was turned out to be a lie. I’m not Keith and I’m not the Galra I once was, but you? Damn it, Shiro.”

“You have this ability to make people into heroes. When I first met you, I was awestruck.” Keith paused and laughed softly at the memory. “Okay, the first time I met you, all I wanted to do was not get arrested. You were just the fall guy and I should have just walked away, but I couldn’t. Best mistake of my life.”

His voice cracked and Keith swallowed, looking down at his hands as the loss washed over him. A life that didn’t exist and would never exist, a love that had all but been erased. “I felt like I had to prove myself to you, even though you never asked me to. I’m still not sure I’m living up to what you saw in me. How do you do that, Shiro? You just believe so much in other people that they want to be heroes. Just like you.”

“I don’t know what I am anymore, Shiro, but I know I’m better because of you.”

_— End Recording —_


	23. Chapter 23

The Freedom had never been a big ship. Sleek and compact, it was built with speed in mind, for the comfort of a small group of explorers from a species that was notoriously bad at maintaining physical space. Yet Ryou’s absence had left a void that made the halls longer and silences heavier. It hit Shiro the hardest. Keith would catch him at times, turning towards empty air, and the smile on his face would falter, or they would be starting a meal and the pointed flick of his ear would give away that he’d been expecting someone else. 

“I think about them sometimes,“ Shiro confessed once. “They should’ve reached Koryusai by now.”

Keith had frowned. He’d only wanted to placate him. “You don’t have to worry. I programmed the autopilot myself. Maybe we should have let him take the Freedom too?”

“And use that rust bucket Nyma gave you?” He’d only made Shiro laugh. “This is _my_ ship, it goes where I go and that happens to be where you’re going. Besides, you don’t know my brother. If you think I’m bad with tech, he’s a thousand times worse, and flying’s the one thing he never figured out. He’s a cargo pilot, but  _barely._  I think his instructor took pity of him. Him and that big ship…let’s just say it’s lucky you could figure out the autopilot.” Shiro had sighed. “It’ll be like no Koryu has ever seen. He’ll be a hero.”

There was disappointment and some whimsy there, but no actual regret. They both knew why Ryou had to go. Still, it had lead to a change that almost made Keith want to thank Ryou for leaving.

“Are you busy?” Shiro asked now, sidling up to Keith in the mess hall. Keith was scrolling through one of the schematics he’d pulled off the Galra ship. It had been keeping him busy for the better part of a week, but Shiro wasn’t really asking and Keith didn’t need to answer, not in any words. He turned, just enough that Shiro could slump against him, curling around him with a newfound ease. It was just a little passed noon.

The first time it had happened, a lifetime spoke between them, exhaustion and relief, exhilaration that bordered on overwhelming, and a strange sense of mourning because Shiro knew no matter what happened next, he wouldn’t be the person he was when he’d left Koryusai. And Keith knew it, too. The Koryu needed companionship almost as much as they needed air. Ryou hadn’t been able to make up for all the people they’d left behind, but he’d been a distraction. Now it was just Shiro and Keith.

“I didn’t know.” Keith had admitted in the beginning. “You didn’t use to be very physical.” Distant he’d meant. It had surprised Shiro, and the thoughts between them twisted in a way that was distinctly blue. Keith hated it immediately. He’d never turned Shiro away.

It meant nothing, an old Koryu habit that was shared as easily as a hello, but as Shiro shifted against him, Keith’s breath still caught in his throat. He put down his report. Shiro was already half-asleep, nosing at the crook of Keith’s elbow, and radiating a steady sort of calm. It made Keith yawn, too.

“Comfortable?” He asked as Shiro started to rumble, a grating purr deep in his chest that Keith lived for. He stroked his fingers through Shiro’s dark hair, tracing along the edge of furry ears until the bond between them shivered with pleasure so strong that Keith had to stop.

“Mmm?” Shiro protested, turning back into Keith’s touch to try and coax more. “What is it?” He complained sleepily.

“Nothing, go to sleep.” Keith said, but his feelings betrayed him as always, waves of yearning and hesitation and frustration. They ached like an old bruise, practice hadn’t silenced his chaotic emotions, but at least he’d stopped screaming everything he felt directly into Shiro’s brain. 

The Koryu didn’t speak, just blinked unfocused eyes up at Keith and let the feelings wash over him. There was something behind the garbled emotions that Shiro couldn’t draw out of the other man, some need that cut deeper and was held closer. They had been pulled together, a bond as strong as any mated pair. It had all happened so fast, but Shiro knew there was more to it than the few weeks they’d spent together. There was some future he could only guess at, though the truth seemed clear.

“When you and I knew each other,” Shiro finally said, “You cared about me, didn’t you?”

“I already told you we were friends.”

“Only friends?”

Keith didn’t have an answer. All Shiro knew was the horror that washed over him in a garbled wave, and when it was kissed by such hopeless want, it left the Koryu reeling. Keith still refused to speak.

“I think I need to check on our course. We should be reaching the refueling site soon,” Shiro mumbled, detangling himself.

“Shiro, wait-” Keith inhaled sharply, regret flooding through him, and he could feel Shiro recoil from it. 

The Koryu offered him a pained smile, shaking his head as stood.

“It’s okay. I’ve got work to do.”

Shiro walked away with his head held high and a lazy drag in his step. He made sure he was alone before he acknowledged the bitter pit in the center of his chest. He had never felt so jealous, but he couldn’t compete with a dead man.

 

* * *

 

Keith breathed a sigh of relief and hated himself for it. A memory of their connection still thrummed across his nerves, as if Shiro was still pressed against him, his breath warm on Keith’s skin, his weight blanketing him. It wasn’t Shiro’s fault. He’d offer the same proximity to a stranger, but it had still been enough to knock Keith off-kilter. 

Temptation left him dizzy. Even at their closest, the Shiro he knew had been guarded. There was so much that he hadn’t been willing or able to share with Keith. He’d carried too many ghosts and refused to let go of his burden until Keith had taken it from him with a bullet. This version of Shiro had none of those boundaries. He gave everything of himself freely and with no expectation, and all Keith wanted was to take.

All he had to do was ask and he knew Shiro would give him everything. Shiro, not Takashi. As much as Keith tried to bury his feelings as deeply as they could go, they spilled through their link and laid his secrets bare. Now Shiro wanted to know about a lost future and Keith couldn’t tell him the truth. 

He sulked through the halls of the Freedom, hiding himself away as he fought with himself. He had no right to love this Shiro, still so hopeful and trusting, but Light, he wanted him. It was a mistake built on lies, pretending they were both somehow different, but that didn’t change the way his body demanded Shiro’s touch. The emptiness without him was crushing.

With a sigh, he headed towards the bridge. Even if he couldn’t give Shiro the truth, he could at least give him an apology. He crept through the doorway and hesitated, watching Shiro work. The Koryu was focused on the control panel, fine tuning some calculations faster than even Keith could see. His ears were perked in rapt attention, hands flying over the screen.

“Shiro?” Keith murmured, but the other man didn’t even twitch an ear. Of course Shiro had heard him coming.

When he turned, he flashed Keith a bright smile that sent a spiral of guilt through Keith’s gut. “Hey, I was wondering when you’d turn up.”

“I wanted to see if…” Keith wasn’t sure how to end. The urge to apologize lingered in the back of his mouth, but he didn’t know if it would be enough or if he even meant it. Shiro didn’t seem to notice.

“There was something I wanted to talk to you about.” He spoke as if Keith hadn’t interrupted him. “I wanted to apologize. I know that… he’s none of my business. It’s not important anyway.”  

Keith stopped in mid-step, his brow furrowing. That bitter taste in the back of his mouth had only sharpened as he floundered for an answer. “It’s complicated.” He tried, but that didn’t explain anything, how could he sum up an entire future lost.

“Hey, it’s fine. Forget I asked, we should just focus on getting to Balmera Prime.” Shiro said with a smile. “I’ll need to recharge the batteries, there’s a suitable star in this system that has the right kind of energy for the engine garden. It should only take an hour or so to get what we need.”

Shiro exuded calm, like they were discussing the weather. It washed over Keith’s nerves where they were closest, lapping at his skin like waves crashed across the shore. If he reached out, he was sure it would claim him completely, as steady and comforting as an embrace. But he didn’t trust it. The pleasant curve of Shiro’s smile made his stomach clench.

Shiro was lying to him, and Keith couldn’t catch him. Shiro was lying to him, because Keith made feel like he needed to.

Shiro took his hand, and Keith knew he’d already fallen. He took a step closer, and another, until he could curl around the Koryu, holding him as tightly as he could manage. Shiro tensed, then let out a tired exhale and twisted until he could return the embrace.

“You make it so hard sometimes.” Shiro mumbled under his breath, burying his face in Keith’s throat. Keith pretended he didn’t hear him, but it was a long time until they reached that star. When Shiro finally pulled away, Keith had to swallow an unhappy growl low in his throat. Stupid Koryu shape.

“Have you done this before?” Shiro asked as he extended the Freedom’s solar fins, an innocent question still picking at something unspoken.  _How much did we share? How much did we do together in the future?_

Keith felt a grin tug at the corner of his mouth, the memory one he was willing to share. “It was the first time you let me fly the ship, you were teaching me how to control it. It was a pretty wild ride.” 

“Then let’s see if you can impress me.” He teased, stepping back from the controls to let Keith take over. “I want to see what you can really do.”

The challenge swept down Shiro’s hooded gaze, curling along the length of smile and stretching across the hint of fang that teased beneath his lips. He made Keith’s heart skip every time. And it wasn’t just because Keith was only too easy to provoke.

The red giant loomed over their horizon, glowing brilliantly even behind the ship’s tinted glass.

“Maybe this time, I’ll let you catch your breath.”

Shiro wanted to ask what he meant. He should’ve sat down first. Keith pushed forward and the ship soared.

The Koryu slammed into his seat, safety netting sliding around his shoulders before he could be thrown against the ceiling as Keith kicked up their engines, giving into the massive star’s gravitational pull. Shiro  _howled!_  But the Freedom’s sails widened, catching the rush of hot gas with such smoothness that Keith ached, and they rose with it. Every cell flared, greedy for power, and Keith cut their angle, forcing them up up up as the Freedom buckled but never groaned, not like this, not when it was strong and swift and nothing like Keith had ever flown. Control scratched at the tips of his fingers, threatening to fly away completely. His arms buckled as he fought to keep the wheel steady, and beside him, Shiro laughed. The captain’s feet dug into the console, shoving himself into his seat, but his arms were raised high, like the first time he’d ever flown. His glee pulsed through the cabin.

Keith cut the engine.

They were falling.

A solar flare rose up, soaring past them in a wave of power. The Freedom caught it all.

Keith collapsed onto the captain’s chair, squashing Shiro as they both laughed and rode out the blast around them. Adrenaline hummed in his veins like the star was powering his blood, or maybe it was the warmth of Shiro’s hands around his waist holding him steady. Or the way they curled into each other and fed into the exhilaration to amplify the feeling like an echo chamber. It was too familiar to resist as the fire burned between them, the magnetic pull that would never be denied. The connection shifted, the rush sweeping into want as Keith let it crash through him.

He carded his fingers through Shiro’s hair, briefly mourning that he’d never had a chance to pull it while it was so long, and tipped Shiro’s head back. Keith settled between the captain’s legs and watched Shiro’s tongue dart out to wet his lips, the muscles of his throat tightening as he swallowed before letting his eyes slip closed at the touch. All he had to do was lean forward to capture Shiro in a kiss and take him.

 _Mine_.

If he was truly Galra, he would have already taken what he wanted.

He still remembered what it was like when Shiro’s defenses had come down, the wild, desperation that the Koryu had kept so tightly controlled. It had been so easy for Shiro to just pick him up, slamming him hard against the cool wall of the Freedom as he took Keith apart with just his mouth. The way he’d laughed then just like he did now, but without the years of pain or the scars to mask it.

Beneath him, Shiro gasped, shivering all the way down to his toes, but he didn’t let go of the armrest, and when he opened his eyes, he was blushing to the tips of his ears. Keith couldn’t pull away fast enough.

Keith stumbled until the back of his knees hit the console, looking down at Shiro with wide eyes. He could still feel the way old memories whispered beneath them, almost as clearly as the ones written in Shiro’s tattoos. Keith felt Shiro struggling, sensed the way he reached out mentally when the actual words escaped him, until all he could muster was a whisper. “Keith…”

“It’s not-, that’s not…” Keith stammered, forgetting how to speak. Emotions were easy to share, almost too easy according to Shiro, but he’d never shared a memory before. It was everything he feared, Shiro catching a glimpse of their future and knowing too much. Keith’s secrets were buried to protect them both, he couldn’t slip and let Shiro actually see how he’d failed.

Or how much Keith had taken.

Shiro opened his mouth to ask questions Keith knew he couldn’t answer, but before he could speak, the ship rocked hard and alarms started blaring. The memory hung in the air unspoken as Shiro surged to his feet and ran his hands along the control panel. “Something’s firing at us!”

Shiro slammed his fist on the console, and outside, a shimmering particle barrier tried to form around the ship. It was a second too late. Another blast followed. Then there was only darkness. The Freedom hummed as it shifted to auxiliary power, leaving tiny beige flowers blooming along the ceiling and floor, but the control panels remained worryingly inactive.

“They knocked out our electronics.” Shiro swore under his breath, trying to physically coax a system that shouldn’t have needed it. He wasn’t worried about air, but when Keith peered into the viewscreen, he could understand Shiro’s concern. Only the red star filled their screen. Incapacitated and blind, they were the easiest sort of targets.

The ship rocked suddenly. Keith couldn’t know for sure, but he could guess their opponent’s next move. It was what he would’ve done.

“Prepare for boarding,” Keith warned. Together they took off, sprinting towards the machine room, grabbing the weapons they’d liberated off the Galra ship as they passed. When they got there, it was already filled with white smoke so thick it obstructed the golden quintessence pools.

They weren’t alone.

Shiro moved through the smoke too fast to see, using the cover to his advantage. His claws extended, teeth bared as he fought to defend his ship against their enemies. Blaster fire tore through the haze in bright flashes, but he was gone before they hit, leaving a trail of screaming in his wake. Keith was more than a little impressed. Even without the years of hardship honing Shiro into a living weapon, he moved with deadly confidence. A warrior trained as a pilot, ready to defend his crew against whatever the galaxy would throw at him.

The blaster felt good in Keith’s hand as he gripped the handle, readying himself for the fight, but the shadows struck him from behind. Dead eyes watched him from the swirling smoke and he froze, a sudden block of fear freezing him to the spot. Broken skulls of empty drones. Blood-spattered floors. They’d danced as power poured back into them. Slack jaws chattered, whispering his words in dozens of voices not meant to speak.

Panic welled in Keith’s chest as he struggled to breathe, hand shaking too badly to aim. A bolt of energy slammed into his shoulder as pain burst through his nerves and Keith fell hard to the floor of the Freedom.

“Keith!”

It hurt, oh Light it hurt he had to move, he had to fight. Color cut across the dim, singeing air as they soared past, the smell of ozone flooding thin air. He couldn’t move. Keith couldn’t move couldn’t breathe he was falling _falling._

A shadow fell over him, Shiro’s silhouette the only point of clarity in the haze. He stood between Keith and their attackers, hissing poison and poised for attack. For a moment, he was all Keith could see, and the ground beneath him no longer tilted so sharply. No matter where Keith turned, activated blasters surrounded them through the mist. They were surrounded, but Shiro wouldn’t back down.

“Are you okay?” Shiro muttered under his breath, glaring like he could see every single one of their enemies, but his hand was extended. Keith didn’t answer verbally, just let Shiro pull him to his feet, his tension meeting frantic concern until it could simmer out. Their assailants hadn’t moved.

“Clear.” A shrill voice called out behind them, from somewhere down the hall. “No one else on the ship, Captain.”

Amidst the laser field, a bark-like laugh answered. “Ay? These are the saddest Galra we’ve seen yet.”

Keith wanted to see the laser scorched hallways of the Freedom, but the nightmare was slow to release him. He leaned against Shiro breathing hard, back soaked with sweat as he stared at the gathering warriors with wide eyes. They were surrounded by a ring of heavily armed Unilu.

A woman with thick wavy hair approached, one set of arms crossed while the other held them at gunpoint. “A spy ship? I’ve never seen this design before, are the Galra actually trying something new?”

Shiro bared his fangs and stepped between the woman and Keith, trying to shield him with his body. “We’re not spies, you’re the ones who attacked  _us_!”

“Hm, not a species I recognize. No wonder the Galra have a few new tricks up their sleeves.”

“I am not Galra and we’re not working for them.” Shiro snapped. “We were refueling when you fired at us without warning, you violated the Galactic Coalition Spacefaring Treaty!”

That accusation seemed to surprise the Unilu who gave a short laugh. “You’re quoting defunct intergalactic law at me? Who are you?”

Shiro drew himself up to full height. “I’m Captain Shiro on a diplomatic mission from the planet Koryusai to Balmera Prime, and you will leave my ship alone.”

“How much does a diplomat’s ransom go for?” The Unilu jeered to mocking laughter. Then she peered pointedly at Keith. “Maybe we’ll keep the little one.”

Shiro snarled, raising his blaster, only to have it knocked out of his hand. The Unilu captain leveled her own at his face. In her free hand, she examined the gun. “What kind of diplomatic mission carries Galra tech? You might not be bleeding purple, but we’re not taking any chances. Boys, strip this heap. Find somewhere nice to put diplomat friends.”

“You can’t!” Shiro protested. “The ship’s useless to you. We’re the only ones who can pilot it.”

The smoke was fading. Keith could count each of the figures on board. Shiro’s frustration battered him, but with it, the beginnings of a plan. Keith doubled over, swooning in a clumsy arch, his hand scrambling to keep hold of Shiro as he touched the ground. The Unilu chuckled under her breath.

“How about you let us decide that?”

“You should’ve just left us alone.”

In the back of the room, one of the Unilu gasped as she hit the floor hard, but it was drowned out as the raider to her side screamed. Keith and Shiro moved forward before the first shot could fire, sliding to the ground as the vines of the machinery’s column came to life, dragging their victims into the thick quintessence pools. 

They ducked through the crowds, rushing through the boarding passage that connected the Freedom to their enemy’s ship. Two guards waited on the other side, but they’d been caught off-guard. Keith made sure they didn’t get back up, before slamming the door closed. 

They didn’t stop running. “We need to find their bridge. How long do we have?”

Shiro looked towards the closed door with a grim resignation, but he already had one of the Unilu’s fusion sabers in hand. It looked like a sawed-off pipe but crackled with power. “The organic-sourced life support should last for two hours. With that many of them, a lot less? If we give them a few minutes, we can pick them off when they’re tired.”

“Are you sure about that?” The question slipped past before Keith could stop himself. Shiro turned to him, startled at first, then disappointed.

_“Yes.”_

Keith scowled at having put his foot in his mouth and turned away. They stopped at a fork in the path, and he pretended to contemplate which route to take. Shiro’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Are you alright?”

The flush started at Keith’s hairline and he could feel his skin burn, even to the tips of his ears. He hadn’t meant to share his memories, especially one of the two of them together with such intimacy. He had to keep his distance and his perspective, the mission came before any of his personal feelings. Just like Shiro had tried to teach him. “Yeah, I didn’t mean-”

“You froze back there. I’m worried about you.”

 _Oh._  Of course Shiro wasn’t thinking about a kiss in the middle of battle. Keith waved his hand dismissively at his mistake. He’d let the past get to him, it wouldn’t happen again. He opened his mouth to reassure Shiro of his focus when he found himself eye-to-muzzle with a shaky Unilu blaster.

“Who are you?” The voice was as shaky as the hand, but Keith found himself staring into a pair of dark, angry eyes of a young Unilu boy barely into his teens. The boy glared at them from under tousled hair, his three extra arms held defensively in case the intruders tried to attack. He stood his ground even though it was clear he was afraid, bravely protecting the rest of his ship.

Worst of all, Keith knew him.

Even though he was so much younger, Chester, no  _Chet_  still had the same fierceness and determination that had carried him on his solo mission all those years in the future. The same confidence to make difficult decisions and ready to do whatever it took to protect the people that he cared about. Oh Light, he even had the same flush when he met Keith’s eyes.

Shiro held up his hands slowly, not willing to point a weapon at a child, no matter what the circumstances. “We’re not here to hurt anyone, your people attacked our ship and we just want it back.”

“The Galra spies!”

“No.” Keith insisted, not harsh but stern enough to draw Chet’s focus. Keith could acknowledge the steadiness in his form, his familiarity with the blaster, but he wondered if the Unilu had ever pointed it at a real enemy. The boy met him with steely eyes, but his nerves were a bigger threat than his bravery. “We’re not, but we fought them, and we stopped them. We don’t want to hurt anyone. We just need to get going.”

He took a step forward, taking Chet’s wrist in hand and gently lowering it, all the while never breaking eye contact.

On the far end of the hall, there was a crash. Chet lunged, shoving Keith against the wall. He was breathing hard, shivering against him, but Keith just tightened his grip once. No matter what Chet did, he couldn’t break free. In that instant, they both knew who was in control.

“Let go.” Keith whispered.

“I’ve heard enough.”

The Unilu captain returned. Shiro automatically trained his weapon at her. The Unilu had broken through their own barrier, and her mounting party fanned out behind their Captain. Again she outnumbered and outgunned them, but her easy humor was gone.

“Step away from him.” Her voice was low and dangerous as the boy struggled in Keith’s grip, but he refused to let go.

“Lower your weapons first.” Shiro warned. “We’re not going to hurt anyone, but we can’t let you keep us here.”

This was all going sideways fast, but Keith remembered Chet. Hopefully, his clan was anything like the warrior he’d known. “We’re fighting the Galra, too.” He said, taking a gamble by exposing their mission. “We just took down a droneship with some help, that’s why we have Galra tech and why we’re on our way to Balmera Prime. If we  _were_  with the Galra, we would have killed you all by now.”

The Unilu woman didn’t look convinced. “Then what were you doing in this system? How did you find us?”

“We didn’t find you, not until you attacked us. We were refueling our solar cells from the system’s star. I know what people believe about the Unilu, but your people have always had honor. It’s why you fight, it’s what you believe in. We’re all on the same side, but you need to lower your weapons.”

“Mom?” Chet called out and Keith felt a twinge of regret to have frightened the boy.

Over Chet’s shoulder, Shiro sent Keith a glance. His eyes darted quickly towards the oncoming Unilu, but there was no debate. Carefully, they both lowered their weapons.

The captain hissed something that couldn’t have been pleasant and pulled her son closer before Chet could second-guess his fortune. It took her a moment longer to order her crew to stand down.

“Captain!” A tall bearded Unilu at the back of the group glowered. He was the last to deactivate his laser, and only moved after the captain stared him down.

“Later, Gurnka.” She snapped. “Take these two to my quarters. If anything happens, I’ll have all your hides.“ 

Her lieutenant hesitated. “Are you sure we shouldn’t just kill them? It’ll be easier to throw them out the airlock and take the ship.” He said as the Captain bristled. Hostility crackled in the air between them, some longstanding rift that had sharpened to a blade’s edge to have an officer question his captain so openly before captives. Eventually, he backed down before the captain’s fury and murmured an apology, prodding Shiro and Keith with the end of his rifle as he led them away.

Chet watched them go with wide eyes and Keith wished he didn’t feel the weight of them on his back. Oh Light, he never thought he’d see Chet again, especially the pint-sized version. He felt like a cradle robber.

The Unilu lieutenant shoved them both into a room with a snarl and slammed the door behind them without giving them any instructions. Shiro just sighed and brushed himself off as Keith gave the door a dark look.

“At least we’re still alive, that means they’re willing to listen. Good work out there with the diplomacy, it really helped.”

“It was nothing.” Keith said sourly, crossing his arms as he looked around the room, trying to gauge escape routes.

“It sounds like you have experience with whoever these people are. They responded to that.”

“Unilu are just easy to predict.” Keith snapped, unwilling to explain any further. “If they listened, they would have let us go instead of locking us in here. Just because they didn’t kill us doesn’t mean we can trust them.”

“You worked with them before?”

There were too many answers to that, and Keith shook his head, trying not to remember the way Chet smiled under Empyrea’s stars. Better to remember how he trembled when he held his blaster. He probably wasn’t even past his second urticating. “Never, they’re dirty pirates.”

The door opened, and Keith shut his mouth so sharply, his jaw ached. Beside him, Shiro straightened, meeting the pirate with a cool stare, but when his palm brushed against Keith, Keith felt a little trill of grim amusement, the asshole.

The captain took her time across the room, each tap of her heel drumming through their hard-worn calm. She pulled out the chair behind her desk, letting it drag across the floor before sliding in and nodding to the metal stools across it. “You owe your health to the generosity of pirates. It’d be best to remember that.” Neither of them was obnoxious enough to immediately disagree. She smiled. “I’m Captain Mardon. Now how do two furskulls on a gimcrack ship take down a droneship?”

Keith took some pleasure in knowing that Shiro bristled faster than he did.

“You don’t look like warriors. You look like a hornhead’s breakfast.” She gave them both a pointed stare. “Or their dessert.”

“We’ve had some experience fighting Galra.” Keith said before Shiro could argue, and it wasn’t entirely a lie. Captain Mardon didn’t need to know exactly how much experience they’d had. “Are you going to let us go or what?”

She looked thoughtfully at her nails and ignored the way Keith glared at her. “My crew would like to kill you and take everything you own.”

“No offense, ma’am, but your crew aren’t the ones making the decision here.” Shiro appealed to her leadership and the woman almost smiled.

“No, they’re not. Surprising that it takes an outsider to remember that.” Finally, she sighed. “We didn’t find any evidence of Galra tech in your ship beyond the weapons, so I believe you. Unfortunately for you, that doesn’t mean I can just let you go. We’re in the middle of a delicate operation with the Galra in this system, I can’t risk you ruining things, even unintentionally.”

“Wait a second, you can’t just keep us here like prisoners!” Keith took a step forward, but Shiro gently pulled him back before he could launch himself at the pirate.

“We’re trying to stop the Galra too. Maybe if we work together, there’s something we could do to help you instead of just sitting around in your brig or something.” Shiro’s offer was too generous and Keith looked up sharply. They were on a clock, the destruction of his people was looming before them and there wasn’t much time to save all of Koryusai. If they didn’t find the Resistance and the Paladin before time ran out, then everything would repeat itself again and there’d be no stopping it, yet Shiro wanted to waste time helping Unilu  _pirates_?

The captain seemed surprised before dismissing the idea. “We work alone, we don’t need help from outsiders.”

“Maybe that’s why you’re not winning.”

Keith looked up, startled. Captain Mardon openly glared. Shiro wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of watching him flinch, but there was no aggression in his stance, his eyes left wide and unassuming in a way Keith knew better than to trust.

“Watch that tongue, boy or I’ll have it on my wall.” The Unilu warned, but with less venom than Shiro had probably earned.

Keith rested his hand on Shiro’s side, the tips of his finger brushing against his arm, just out of the pirate’s line of sight. It was a clumsy sort of subterfuge, a far cry from the polished, direct orders that an elite could use to command any drone. It still worked.  _What are you doing what are you thinking time? We have no time! If you distract them we can get to our ship._ He crashed against Shiro’s resolution and splintered, leaving nothing behind, and something in Keith’s chest soared in response.

_Then who would we be?_

It wasn’t a perfect answer, but he didn’t need it to be.

“We’ve gotten past their systems before. We have no intention of stopping.” Shiro said, and Keith looked away to avoid seeing the scar that cut across his face. The skin was still pale, a jagged uneven line that he refused to see as ugly. Especially when Shiro smiled. It was surprisingly grim. “At the very least, you’ll have two more bodies to throw at their guns.”

“I think we should let them help.” A voice cut in and Captain Mardon stiffened, glaring out at the open doorway and the shadow that lurked just beyond.

“Chet, get in here.”

The teen shuffled awkwardly into the room and shot Keith a look before his eyes darted to the side, blushing. He twisted both pairs of hands nervously and Keith wished he could sink into the floor.

“If you have an opinion, then stand behind it.” His mother said sternly and the young man straightened. “Why do you think we should trust these outsiders, it’s not the Unilu way.”

“Because it could be! We’ve been fighting on our own for a long time and I know you said that the Unilu look after each other, but we’re not winning. Even if we get the communications crystal, we’re only helping ourselves. It’s not going to stop the Galra in the long run, only the Resistance can do that. If these people are connected to them somehow, then this could be our chance to work together. We could help something more than just us!” Chet balled his hands into fists, passion burning in his voice as he faced his mother who just watched his speech with a thoughtful frown.

“The crew may not agree.” She said.

“Then screw the crew!” He seemed to catch himself and seemed to crumple, rounding his shoulders. “Uh…sorry, Captain.”

Now, she did smile, pride in her eyes at her son’s determination. “Don’t apologize, you have the making of a great Unilu hero, just like your father. You’re right, it’s time we worked together even if some of the others will disagree.”

Chet tried to stand even straighter, but it was impossible without snapping his back. Keith watched the corners of Shiro’s mouth turn downwards into a severe frown, the same way it always did when his brother told a joke that Shiro refused to admit was funny.

The captain turned towards them, openly appraising, before ordering, “Chet, see these two guests to a room. See that no one bothers them.”

Keith bit back a snarl, but some of it still bled through. “We won’t be kept behind bars.”

Captain Mardon just laughed. “Those bars are for your safety. The Gathering will see how we rule. Be grateful I’ve decided to let you keep your ship. Don’t give me reason to change my mind.”

Keith almost took that as a challenge. Then his hand found Shiro’s, and it was impossible to tell whose calm they shared, but it pushed them both through. They thanked the captain, then followed her son out of the door, but the weight of her stare lingered until they were out of sight. Chet marched ahead, oblivious and proud. Every inch of his posture screamed of his determination. He wore it as easily as the holster on his hip. A sudden, painful urge caught Keith, and he had to fight with everything he had to break free.  _You don’t have to try so hard,_ whispered through his thoughts.  _You’re a good man. You’ll do so much for so many people._

Shiro reached for him, the Koryu’s features giving nothing away, but his compassion was sweetly inquisitive. Keith didn’t think he’d ever learn how to say no to heroes.

“Hey, are you guys coming or what?” Chet asked, his tongue giving away his irritation, but the sharp lilt at the end gave away his age.

“Sorry,” Shiro said, and he almost looked it. They jogged to catch up, both silently promising not to doddle.

“Keep up or the others will try to shiv you.”

“Even on the Captain’s orders?” Keith asked. He’d been begrudgingly curious, but when Chet hesitated, his interest sharpened. Every quiet beat that followed exacerbated it further.

“Of course not,” Chet reassured them, his earlier warning apparently forgotten. “It’s just dangerous out here. You don’t know who you’re dealing with. No one goes against the Captain.”

Shiro smiled obligingly, but the distant sound of hurried footsteps silenced his response. It wasn’t long before a stern, disapproving figure turned the corner. Captain Mardon’s Lieutenant. Gurnka. His heated gaze said enough as he brushed past, but he refused to acknowledge any of them on his way down the path they’d followed, to the Captain’s quarters.

Chet frowned at his back.

They moved down two more corridors before Shiro elbowed Keith in the side, nearly knocking him into a wall. Keith scowled, but Shiro didn’t seem to notice. Instead of remorse, Keith was met expectation and impatience when he brushed against him. Shiro narrowed his eyes at the back of Chet’s head, pointing with the tip of his chin and widening his eyes intently.  _WHAT_ Keith pushed, as loudly as he could mentally yell. Shiro’s only response was a wave of exasperation.

“Chet. It’s Chet, right?” Shiro asked to earn the Unilu’s wary eye. “I- we wanted to thank you. We would’ve been in a lot more trouble without your help.”

“Oh. Yeah. I guess.” Chet muttered, made nervous by either attention or gratitude.

“We’re just a little worried,” Shiro continued, his tone softening, and when he stepped closer, Chet turned towards him. “We’re not sure we understand. What’s gathering?”

“That Gathering of Captains!” Chet made it sound obvious even as Shiro and Keith glanced at each other in confusion. The young Unilu sighed heavily. “It’s as close to a government as my people get. The Unilu don’t have a home planet, not for a long time. The heart of the Unilu lives on the fleet and every Captain represents the voice of their people for the Gathering. We don’t make any major decisions until we have some kind of consensus, and that means letting the two of you help on our mission.”

“What exactly is your mission?” Shiro asked gently, trying to fish information out of the overeager Unilu.

Chet hesitated, wondering if he’d said too much. “It’s, uh…it’s.” He looked at Keith and flushed again. “All you need to know is that it’ll strike a blow against the Galra. If the Gathering approves the plan, then you’ll know soon enough.”

“But if we’re supposed to help, shouldn’t we be at the Gathering? We can plead our case, share our information. We can help you figure out how to beat the Galra.” Shiro said and Chet shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

“The captain said-”

“We won’t cause any trouble.”

“No, the captain said!” Chet shook his head and gestured towards the brig. “I can’t disobey her, but I-I’ll ask?” It was clear they couldn’t push him any further, so Shiro surrendered and entered the brig, dragging a reluctant Keith behind him. Chet closed the door behind them and looked like he wanted to say more, but one glance at Keith and the young Unilu was racing away.

Keith groaned and leaned against the wall. “This is such bullshit! We don’t have time to waste on this, especially on just being stuck in the brig while a bunch of space pirates argue forever.”

“At least we have one person on our side. That Chet kid seems to really like you.”

“I- you!” Keith struggled but all he could do was choke on air, and without a word, he turned around and dropped into the closest seat. His ears were standing as high as they could. He could feel them just as well as he could feel the blush creeping across his face. He heard Shiro shuffle closer, but he didn’t dare look up, not until a pair of shoes crept into his line of vision and Shiro was standing directly on top of him.

Keith poked out from behind his hands. Then Shiro was reaching down, stroking along the grain of Keith’s hair and along the back of his ears. Keith had no choice. He melted.

“You know him?” Shiro guessed, the uncertainty softening every passing moment. “You worry about him…”

“He’s just a kid.” Keith snapped, but their bond betrayed him. It had been too much of a shock seeing Chet again, a what-if he’d thought he’d put behind himself long ago. Falling for the roguish Resistance agent had been so easy.

“Remind me to teach you how to lie.” Shiro murmured with a laugh, nuzzling against Keith’s neck. “Should I be jealous?”

Keith growled. “He’s just a  _kid_.” He repeated.

“A kid who is infatuated with you. Not that I blame him.” Keith could feel the gentle teasing through Shiro’s touch. “So, he is someone you knew in the future?”

“Yes. No. It’s  _complicated_.” Keith pulled away before he could end up revealing too much and hated the fleeting look of confusion and hurt that crossed Shiro’s face before it was gone in a blink. “He was older then. It doesn’t matter anymore, it doesn’t impact what we have to do now.”

“Then why won’t you tell me? You’re my friend, Keith. More than my friend. You’ve become my partner. I’m going to stand with you no matter what, why won’t you let me help you?” He touched Keith’s arm, sharing the muted memory that Keith had let slip. The rush of heat as Shiro had pressed Keith against the wall, the sharp inhale of breath as Keith gasped with Shiro hard, canting against his hip. The taste of his mouth and desperation for more. Too much of a future Keith had never meant to let him see. “I know how you feel about me, you’re not subtle. What if I want the same thing?”

Shiro had never been good about asking. For the mission, maybe, for the betterment of all of them, but never for himself. Never when it mattered. And every time he had, Keith had let him down. He’d been too determined, too guilty and too scared to listen. One last time, before it was too late was all Shiro had asked for. In the end, it wouldn’t have made a difference, but maybe it would have quieted the demons that screamed in his head.

“Don’t.” Keith pleaded, and Shiro hesitated, giving away enough that Keith knew he’d drawn blood.

“Keith-”

“Not right now. I can’t, I…” Keith didn’t know how to finish, grasping at straws and frustrated at himself. He’d faced down dignitaries and nobles, stared down armies and drew blood with his own teeth, but under one man, he faltered.

There was just no one quite like Shiro. Keith had taken everything from him once. He might not have spilled poison, but he’d made sure it had burned. Shiro called him a partner again. He fought alongside him, put his life and his hope in Keith’s hands, but he was blind to all he had left to lose. It was all Keith saw.

“I’m not him, Keith.” Shiro whispered, each word set as carefully as footsteps on a minefield, and Keith couldn’t help the way he tensed, bracing himself against the one person who never wanted to hurt him. “But I still care about you. You’re more- you’re everything.”

“Takashi, please.”

Shiro didn’t respond, left immobile. Keith was pinned under his gaze, every silent second carrying their own accusations, but he refused to look up. He forced Shiro to make the first move, and as the Koryu shuffled away, uncertainty tripping his confident gait, Keith waited for the relief he thought he earned. He was still waiting when the speakers crackled, announcing their next hyperspace jump.

They both braced as the ship lurched beneath them, but Keith felt like it left his heart behind. Shiro smiled, only the smallest droop to his ears giving away how much the rejection hurt. He’d always been so good at hiding how he felt, Keith wondered how he managed. All Keith could do was bury things until the pressure built and it exploded beyond his control.

“Why don’t you trust me?” Shiro asked softly, his voice even and controlled as Keith scrambled for an answer.

“It’s not that, I do trust you!”

“Then what is it? Why won’t you talk to me? I get that what happened was difficult, I can feel the pain in you whenever you think about where you came from. But when I try to pull back you  _push_  and I just…” Shiro looked like he wanted to reach out, fall back on the unspoken words instead of trying to give voice to impossible feelings. It was clumsy this way, only letting him share half of what he meant and lacking the nuances of every thought.

Keith snarled, his own ears flattened against the back of his skull. “There’s things I can’t tell you! I’m trying to change the future I came from. It was bad, Shiro. It was-, you lost too much. The less you know about it the better.”

“Am I so different now than he was?”

The question hung in the air between them, an open wound. Keith was the first one to turn away.

Shiro didn’t press him. He was always smart enough to know when to strategically retreat.

 

* * *

 

  _–Begin Recording?—_

_> >Yes_

“I can’t do this.”

Keith’s voice snarled from off camera. He paced into view and out of it, hands fisted in his hair. After a few minutes, he finally slammed himself down into the chair in front of the camera, arms crossed as he scowled into the lens.

“How am I supposed to tell you about him?” He asked, dark eyes glittering with emotion even as he schooled his expression into one of icy unhappiness. “He was a hero, he was the most inspiring person I ever met. I loved him and he…you loved me. At least I think you loved me. I hope you did.”

The words seemed stuck in Keith’s throat and he looked away. “You were dying, who knows what would have happened. We might not have had much time together, but we could have found a little bit of peace. Is it selfish to think we deserved it? I’m not a Resistance fighter, I’m not whatever Keith thought he wanted to be. I’m Galra, we take what we want! I could just take you somewhere away from this war and keep you safe for once. You’re not dying now, I could keep it that way. Let the universe go to hell, it’s not our problem. None of this is, all I want is you.”

“I knew him, that boy. Chet. He wasn’t a boy when I met him. You kept pushing me away even though I  _knew_ it wasn’t how you really felt. He was simple and easy, he offered me a chance to just be with someone who wanted me. I never had anything like that before, you were always-, you were so much more, Shiro. It was like trying to love a supernova without getting burned alive. It was going to destroy us both, but I was too selfish to know when to quit. I left him behind to follow you, I don’t know if I’d change that now.”

He hunched his shoulders, the weight of the future crushing down on him as his breath came in ragged gasps like he was trying to keep himself from crying. “How can I tell you what happened? I failed you, I let you die. I had to  _kill_  you, that was the only peace I could give you then. You were so afraid that the infection would finally take you and I couldn’t stop it. I can’t let this happen again, I’d do anything if it means keeping you safe.”

Keith swiped his hand across his eyes. He looked up and gave the camera one sad, crooked smile. “ I wish I could tell you the truth… But you’ve already seen. I may not be Galra enough, but I am Galra. I need you to trust me, Shiro… Because I can’t lose you.”

_–End Recording—_

 


	24. Chapter 24

The silence was broken with a whoosh of air as the door to their prison slid open. Keith and Shiro both tensed, but the hulking Unilu guard just gestured for them both to follow. The wicked looking laser rifle cradled in one set of her arms did little to entice them to disobey and they shuffled down the corridors of the ship and through a series of shielded, identical hallways that seemed to snake on forever.

For the first time in a long time, Keith felt out of step. There had been an unspoken draw between them, an irresistible gravity joining them together. It existed through time, beating like a pulse whenever they touched and lighting a fire in his veins. Suddenly, it felt frayed, their relationship pulled tight enough to cut. The Koryu were the most open and honest species he’d ever encountered in his life. Now, Keith watched Takashi cement the first few blocks of Shiro’s wall into place and remembered how long it had taken to pull them all down a lifetime ago.

Light, he hated himself for this.

How could he ever explain when even touch betrayed him? There were too many secrets locked in his memories, too much violence and bloodshed. A whole life as a Galra Elite. If his sins spilled through his skin, Shiro would hate him. Fear him. Keith told himself that this had to be better, somehow. Maybe someday when this was all over, he could tell Shiro the truth about the future they’d avoided. Keith rubbed his chest, feeling the ache deep in his bones. 

If they survived.

They were lead to the bridge, and Keith straightened his stance, trying but unable to ignore the way every eye seemed to track them. Chet outright waved, then seemed to catch himself and withdrew into his corner beside a man who scowled irritably at the pair. They had the attention of everyone, except the Captain. Keith was admittedly surprised to find her behind the wheel of her ship. She didn’t look away from her viewscreen when they approached.

“Thank your lucky stars, you will have the opportunity to speak at the Gathering and plead your case, an honor rarely offered to anyone but our Captains. Do not waste it.” She said without looking up.

“Our case only exists to help-” Keith was cut off when Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder, the sharp surge of emotion enough to leave him dizzy, and he couldn’t help but lean in. 

“Thank you. We’ll make it count,” Shiro promised, but his attention was elsewhere. On the viewscreen rose the helm of the largest cruiser he’d ever seen. The holovids never really did them justice, and for a moment, he was transmitting excitement so loudly that Keith coughed beside him.

“Good. Now take a seat.” Captain Mardon said, as she carefully positioned her vessel to the bow of the cruiser. “The Gathering is a privilege  _earned._ You get to see how. _”_

Like the Quvari, the Unilu had lost their homeland long ago. But instead of scattering to the winds, they took to the stars, holding their people together in massive fleets that drifted through space. As the pirate ship moved, the others followed until. Asteroids filled the viewscreen, whirling in a chaotic pattern only the best pilot could navigate. 

Captain Mardon was the best.

They twisted and bobbed, soaring in such a chaotic pattern that Keith’s claws dug into the arm rest of his seat, clueless about how they other ships would manage. It felt like an age, but it was all over in an instant.

When the asteroids parted, they found themselves in the middle of an armada. Keith counted at least three dozen types of ships from almost as many worlds, from sleek frigates and tiny maneuverable fighters, to massive colony ships no doubt packed with Unilu civilians. He’d never seen so many ships in one place before, all skillfully nestled in the shifting asteroid field. Shiro was riveted by the viewscreen, a pilot in his element. Even Keith was awestruck. 

“It’s beautiful.” He murmured. Captain Mardon made a quiet noise of approval and adjusted her opinions of the two aliens.

“Representatives from all of the fleets will be present. When the other Captains are speaking, be respectful. In this place, our laws are absolute. All Captains leave their civilian ships together as a sign of good will in the Gathering. Their safety depends on our good behavior and obedience to our laws. You will not do anything to jeopardize my people.” She warned, but even her sharp tone couldn’t stop the hum of excitement Keith could feel pulsing through Shiro’s skin. From the corner, Chet gave him four thumbs up and Keith bit back a groan. Nothing about this was going to go well.

“Are you sure you want them to go, Captain? It’s highly unusual.” The man beside Chet said, voice respectful even as he glared daggers at Shiro and Keith.

“I’ve made my decision, Lieutenant Gurnka.” Captain Mardon said cheerfully. “Are you questioning my orders?”

“No ma’am.” He said with a quick salute, though Keith could see his unhappiness.

There wasn’t much time for sightseeing as their ship docked and the pair found themselves marched towards the airlock under armed guard. Their escorts fanned out around them as Captain Mardon joined them. She strode ahead confidently, her cape sweeping the halls behind her.

“You should get one of those.” A small voice whispered at Keith’s elbow and he looked over into Chet’s blushing face. “It would look good on you.”

_Sweet fucking Light._

On Keith’s other side, he could sense the silent laughter radiating from Shiro and felt even worse.

“Thank you.” He spoke as curtly as he could manage, but Chet still stood up straighter and beamed. Keith would’ve given a lot to melt into the floor. He hurried forward, with only Shiro keeping pace, and the sudden sweet spots in the Koryu’s mood made the hairs on the back of his neck stand.

“Shut up.” He grumbled, loud enough that only Shiro would hear.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re thinking loudly.”

“Now you know how I feel…” Shiro trailed off abruptly, and Keith stopped, just as the flickers of an image formed in his thoughts. A very specific image of the city of Shiro, from an outsider’s perspective. Through one of the ship’s viewing ports, they could see the large, sweeping curve of glass above the Unilu’s Gathering place, spreading far enough to cover miles. The sight was similar enough to spark a moment of homesickness. Keith tensed, but he reached out and took his partner’s hand. Shiro startled at the connection, a twist of something reaching out before he leashed it tightly and tucked it away where Keith couldn’t see, but he didn’t let go.

They marched on before their escorts felt the need to pry.

The ship had landed in an underground cavern. Shiro took a moment to look back, just to make sure his Freedom had come along, but there wasn’t any time to dawdle. They walked through long, meandering corridors, and walls of rock quickly gave way to craggy dented steel. Each individual piece seemed to have been fused on top of each other, creating a metal skeleton. It reflected the lights eerily, casting shadows where there should have been none, and Keith ached to touch. They were hulls of the Unilu ships of the past, melted together to protect the present.

They walked up a narrow staircase, every person in single file, but Shiro hadn’t let go of his hand so Keith refused to as well. At the top, they were bathed in moonlight.

The Gathering was hosted on a large plateau, on a slab of that same mismatched metal while a large pink tinged dome filtered light overhead. In the center of it all was a large dais, that looked like claws had been raked across it. From the four corners of the hall, groups poured out, each lead by a Captain. Shiro and Keith were the only alien species present. It did not go unnoticed.

Captain Mardon stepped forward first, putting her hand on the dais. Something must have activated, because its jagged lines glowed blue in answer. “Friends, allies, on the bones of our forbearers, I call this meeting to order.”

There was silence. Then the Captain on her right stepped closer, mimicking her stance. “Yulbar Fleet stands in attendance.”

One by one, the other Captains approached, each announcing their attendance and the fleet they commanded. The powerful protectors of the Unilu people. Not just the civilians held in ransom to keep them all honest, but the protectors of culture and tradition that they held on to with fierce determination. When the last Captain announced his fleet, the Gathering truly began. 

It was chaos.

Arguing voices rose in opposition as each Captain attempted to sway the mob. They were masters of charm and strategy, and the hall echoed as the crowd cheered their favorites and booed their rivals.

A woman stepped forward, enormous feathered hat hiding an ugly scar down the side of her ruined face as she held out all four arms to the crowd. “Haven’t we sacrificed enough?” She asked as the gathered Unilu yelled. “We survive because we take care of ourselves, we hold on to the things that make us Unilu. If we lose sight of that, then we are no better than the Quvari. We’ll be homeless refugees scattered to the wind, thrown away as trash on a thousand worlds.”

“Taking care of ourselves  _is_  working with others.” An old man stepped forward, trying to wave the crowd to silence as they howled over him. “The Resistance is our best chance for survival. If we hit the Galra now and take down their communications hub, we cripple them in this sector. We prove our value to the Resistance.”

“We don’t have to prove ourselves to anyone, we’re Unilu!” A younger man in an elaborate cape roared. “If we attack the Galra, they’ll return to wipe us out, it’s what they do. Why should we help the rest of the galaxy? Why should our lives pay for their war? If we leave the Galra alone, they’ll leave us alone. We might even be able to take advantage of this situation! Things are changing, there’s openings for wealth and power under the Galra regime, we could be the ones to take it.”

“Captain, may I speak?”

Shiro shuffled closer to Captain Mardon, trying to be as unobtrucive as possible, but he was the only one at the table missing a feathery hat. There was no way he couldn’t stand out.

Captain Mardon’s mouth thinned into a tight line, and Keith couldn’t tell if she was trying to hide a scowl or a smile. Then she gestured on the dais, which let lose a string of lights that seemed to have left the rest of the room silent.

“With the blessing of Their eyes, I bring forward Shiro, a member of the Resistance to speak with us today.”

A murmur broke out, almost immediately. The curiosity was tightly reigned, but it still bled through. Shiro took a spot beside the Captain, addressing them all with a courteous nod. Mentally Keith felt him reach out, but then he felt him withdraw, as if disappointed the Unilu couldn’t hear him.

The Koryu sent Captain Mardon one last glance, a prickle of tension spreading through his thoughts, but when he spoke, he wasn’t afraid. “My name is Shiro. I’m from a planet called Koryusai. I don’t think any of you’ve heard it. We’ve only just learned to fly. I was supposed to be on our first diplomatic mission into space. Then a Galra scout came.”

He paused, and for the first time seemed to struggle with words, his brows furrowing. “I don’t know much about them, but I saw how they fought, like a single unit without fear or hesitation. I saw their silver labs, where they held people in coffins. I saw the emptiness in their eyes. We were lucky to get out alive, but they’ll be back… I don’t think this is the first time you’ve heard my story. There are too many others like it. It’s happened again and again. It will continue to happen. It doesn’t matter if you choose to fight, or trade with them, or run, or anything. One way or another, the Galra will come for you, and they won’t be looking for allies.”

“And who are you to address us?” The young man with the cape said, earning cheers from the crowd. “What happens to your people isn’t our concern. We don’t have a homeworld, we have nothing to entice the Galra. If we work with them, then they won’t consider us enemies.”

“The Galra destroy their enemies. If you’re a useful ally, then their plans for you are worse than death.” Shiro said calmly as the cheering died away and the crowd began to murmur worriedly. Even the Unilu Captain looked rattled. “They are going to destroy my home and every single one of my people. They want to erase everything we are from the universe. The only way that we will all survive this is if we work together.”

The crowd erupted at his words and Captain Mardon pulled Shiro back as the other Captains tried to shout for order. “Take them back to our ship and wait on my orders!” She yelled as debate raged and someone threw the first double fisted punch.

“I-is this normal?” Shiro asked, tensed and ready to fight as Captain Mardon smiled with too many teeth.

“Absolutely. Let us ‘discuss’ your words, the Gathering will render judgement soon. Now go!” She ordered as a pair of guards broke away to escort Shiro and Keith from the room. Chet trailed behind, torn between wanting to fight for their decision or following Keith to safety.

“You lied.” Keith murmured quietly so only Shiro’s sharp hearing could pick it up. He’d been surprised Shiro would twist the truth to convince the Unilu to help them.

“Well, one of us has to be good at it.” Shiro smiled back, though Keith didn’t need to touch him to feel the ice in the words. “And it’s not too far from the truth. If it helps them do the right thing, then it’s worth it.”

They were ushered back into the ship, but before they could get far, Chet jogged up to them, a little out of breath and frazzled with concern. They both turned to him at the same time, and he went pink.

“Do you um. Maybe want to eat something?”

He made Shiro smile. Keith could handle a little discomfort for that.

“That’d be nice.”

Chet led them into the mess hall of the ship. The lingering looks the rest of the crew sent them implied that he probably shouldn’t have, but no one made a move to stop him. He puttered around, presenting them both with what looked like a red loaf and some kind of tuber plant. Shiro let out an eager little noise and dug in. Keith was close enough to know he was sincere about it, too. With Chet watching, Keith couldn’t do anything but follow suit.

“I just wanted to ask about… what you said. In there.”

Shiro paused before giving Chet a small smile. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“Of course it is!” The young Unilu said so forcefully that Shiro’s ear twitched in surprise. “I’m going to be Captain someday, just like my mother. My father gave me the bravest name he knew from the warrior people of Earth. The future of my people is my responsibility.” He puffed up his narrow chest, hands flat on the table. Shiro looked from Chet to Keith and his expression softened.

“You’re right, it is your responsibility, too. You think we should join forces?”

“I’ve heard stories about the Galra, but I’ve never fought them. If any of them are true, then we have to destroy them before they destroy us.”

Keith scowled darkly. “You’re too young to fight, you should let us handle things.”

It was like Chet deflated, sinking down into his seat with an embarrassed mutter. It was better this way, Keith told himself. He was trying to save them all and no one seemed to want to listen to his warnings. They were all so determined to get themselves killed no matter what he did. He looked up at Shiro and paused as the Koryu bristled angrily.

“Chet’s people are in danger, of course he wants to protect them. He deserves to know everything we do if it could help them.”

“It’s too dangerous, he’s not ready,” Keith threw back, unable or maybe unwilling to diffuse Shiro’s self-righteousness. When Chet flinched away, almost ashamed, Keith felt his heart go out to him. He squeezed his shoulder, making the Unilu look back up. He didn’t mean to be unkind, but that only did only so much to take the sting off of his words. “I know you mean well, but right now there’s nothing you can do to change anything. Knowing won’t help anyone. Just focus on getting the plan to work.”

Shiro was adamant, speaking more for himself than the boy. “It’s his right to know. He has just as much to lose as anyone else in this war, maybe even more so. It’s his people. It’s his fight. It’s his  _life.”_

“Well I’m trying to keep it that way!” It was jarring. Keith had almost forgotten that Shiro could be so persistent, he never gave up when he thought it was the right choice and Keith didn’t know how else to respond.

Shiro reached for Keith, trying to explain something without words. When Keith moved away, Shiro recoiled like he’d been stung. His voice caught in his throat, made so bitter and unhappy it was almost unrecognizable. “I don’t know what you’re afraid of.” 

Before they could argue any further, the door slid open and Captain Mardon strode into the room, ignoring the tension in the air. She was sporting a new bruise along one cheek and a triumphant grin. “The Gathering has come to a decision.”

Shiro was on his feet in an instant. “Are they going to help?”

“They’ve approved the attack on the Galra communications hub. They respect strength and if we’re able to take the crystal and shut down their network in this sector, then they will form an alliance with the Resistance.”

“That’s great!” Shiro felt a rush of hope even as Keith crossed his arms, suspicious of the news. “They’ll come with us to Balmera Prime?”

“Of course not. They’ve approved the attack, but we’re on our own. If we can prove our strength and win, then they’ll know that your Resistance is strong enough to be worthy of Unilu support.” She seemed pleased with the results.

“They want us to take down an entire Galra communications hub on our own and you consider that to be a good thing?” Keith snarled, his frustrations boiling over. “It’s suicide! We’d need an entire fleet to take them down and even then-”

“It was that or they’d execute you for being spies. I’d say they came to a very generous decision.” Captain Mardon said as Keith’s mouth snapped shut. “Get yourselves ready, I’ll be putting a landing party together and we will be reviewing our strategy shortly. I expect you to pull your own weight.”

It almost sounded like a threat.

 

* * *

 

Shiro was avoiding him. Keith hadn’t seen him since Captain Mardon explained a plan that would probably lead to their deaths. It took Keith a moment to realize, because maybe he was putting his own distance between them, but that was somehow even more depressing than anything else. The Unilu pirates went their separate ways, leaving behind the site of the Gathering and scattering to the winds. Keith caught sight of Captain Mardon in the many arms of an unfamiliar officer before they disappeared down one of the civilian ships together.

He had no such distraction, but like the Unilu, he still needed to arm himself for the upcoming battle. He hadn’t thought he’d needed permission to walk, but apparently he was wrong.

“This space is restricted to crew only.”

Lieutenant Gurnka cut an imposing figure as he marched towards Keith, but all Keith saw was a  _pirate._

“If you’re making me go on this mission with you, I’m going armed.” Keith scowled, but he wasn’t prepared for the look of hatred that crossed the Unilu’s face or the venom in his words.

“If it were up to me, there’d be no mission and we’d throw you and your friend out of the airlock.”

Keith bristled, rising to the challenge. “Then just let us go! We didn’t ask to be dragged here and forced to fight for you.”

“Just like we didn’t ask to be dragged into your war?” The lieutenant bit back. “You come here with your speeches and promises, but I know how this ends. There’s not enough of us to take the Galra and as soon as we attack, they will wipe us out. I won’t let you destroy my people!”

He wasn’t wrong, Keith felt a heavy stone settle in his stomach. People died in war and there wasn’t any use in changing it. The Unilu was willing to let the universe go to hell if it meant saving his own people and damn anyone else who was a casualty. Keith hated that he understood how that felt.

“So tell your Captain.” He said, stern but more petty than he’d liked to admit. When Gurnka’s jaw ground shut, Keith felt a vindictive surge of satisfaction.

“Your weaponry will be provided.” Gurnka replied through gritted teeth. “Now get out.”

Keith took his time leaving. The flight to their deployment site was terse and unhappy all around. Keith couldn’t seem to find a place that would tolerate him. He was almost relieved to hear the Captain’s announcement when they arrived. If he couldn’t get out of this, he would have to get over it.

Gurnka beat him to the hangar, but more importantly, so had Shiro. His expression gave nothing away, but as Keith approached, it shifted into something uncertain and open. Keith wondered what  _he’d_ given away and scowled.

A few more shuffled in. Captain Mardon was the last to complete their party, and Keith was struck by how reckless this was going to be. Six people against a Galra base. This couldn’t end well.

“Saddle up, crew. Stealth gear.” 

“I’m coming with you.” Chet announced, hefting a rifle that was much too big for him. “I’m going to fight too.”

His mother smiled, proud of her son’s bravery. “I know you want to be a warrior, but you’re not ready to fight the Galra yet. Stay here with your father, I think he’s found another Earth history book that he wanted to share with you.”

The offer was tempting, but Chet shook his head in refusal. “No way, I want to help. These are my people too, right Shiro?”

The Koryu was uncomfortable with his own words being used against him and earned himself a dark scowl from Lieutenant Gurnka who plucked the gun from Chet’s hands. “Your mother has given her orders, obey your Captain.” He said. “You’re training to be our next Captain, you need to focus on that.”

Chet wilted. “But-“

“No buts. We’re going to do what we have to do.” Gurnka said with a look at Captain Mardon. “Remember, the people come first.”

“I know, I know. Fine. But when you come back, I want to hear everything. Deal?”

“Deal.” Gurnka ruffled the boy’s hair fondly. Chet panicked, embarrassed to have Keith see him treated like a little kid and blushed a bright red before fleeing. He slipped off between the ships, disappearing before anyone could stop him.

Keith felt like dying. It was a good thing they were on a suicide mission.

“Are we leaving yet?”

 

* * *

 

Keith had to admit, the pirates surprised him again. He’d been expecting blundering tactics and a show of force, the Unilu’s signature traits. But these Unilu were different, not the same violent mercenaries he’d been so used to, the ones who’d hunted Shiro and him across the galaxy. Back then, Chet had been the exception to the rule wishing for the days of his people’s honor. Now, Keith could see that skill for himself.

The ship had been heavily modified by their best engineers, a small stealth model that slipped from hyperspace so smoothly, Keith barely felt it. Static crackled in his head as he picked up the unmistakable broadcast of Galra drones. They must be close. He reached out carefully, attempting to override their commands and deactivate them before the ship even landed, but his quiet orders went ignored. Whatever was on that communications hub, it had greater control of the drones.

There must have been another Elite on board. 

Keith wasn’t surprised, just disappointed.

They landed silently on the side of the communications hub, diamond bit drills buzzing through the hull with frightening efficiency. It was clear Captain Mardon had been planning this attack for much longer than she’d let on during the Gathering, nothing about her plan was rushed and no detail overlooked. With a quick nod, they split up as ordered, the Captain and her lieutenant sneaking through the enemy ship to reach the Balmeran crystal powering their operations. The rest of their crew moved to sabotage the base’s communications, while Shiro and Keith split off to bring down the security systems.

If only the two of them could have found the same kind of rhythm as the Unilu.  

There was a burst of static force, a blinding swell of emotion between them, and Keith hit the wall hard, shoved into a corner. It didn’t matter that he maybe wasn’t paying attention, or that chance had caught him on the worst possible step. All that mattered was that it was Shiro’s hand on his chest, and he was stuck.

“Watch it!” Keith snarled, his ears flattening against his head and sending frustration flooding through their connection. Shiro tensed then his tone soured, incredulity rising in answer.

“Oh for the love-”

“Next time just tell me-”

“I did!”

The heavy thud of footsteps had them freezing in place, and as one they retreated into their hiding place as the shadows of patrolling drones marched just meters away from them. Shiro didn’t dare breath, and Keith could feel it. Neither of them relaxed until silence had reestablished itself. Then Shiro took one good look at Keith and marched ahead.

“Wait. What are you thinking?” Keith ground out through clenched teeth, but Shiro didn’t stop. On the far end of the corridor was the security hub, but Keith couldn’t understand the burst of complicated emotions strung together. Shiro crouched in front of the access port, reaching into his holster for a mean looking electrode that Keith had never seen before and looked distinctly cobbled together. Keith was surprised and outraged by his surprise, so loud that Shiro’s indifference had to be intentional. Shiro jammed the device into the access port.

Before he could do anything else, the door opened with a whoosh.

On the other side of the door were half a dozen drones and they did not hesitate. Blaster fire followed in a blink. Keith gasped, ducking behind a column and trying to grab telepathic hold of all at them at once, but inside the room, he saw one of the drones rush for the alarm. 

“NO!”

Shiro was too far to reach the drone in time and Keith couldn’t grasp control of its mind. With a snarl, he yanked a blade from the belt of the closest drone and sent it spinning through the air with deadly accuracy. It whirled past the fray and buried itself into the back of his enemy’s head. The Galra froze, sparks raining down from its skull as it slowly collapsed on the floor.

He barely had a chance to breathe in relief before he was yanked back into the fight. Beside him, Shiro moved with the same deadly speed as the blade had. Keith had never thought the Koryu were a violent species, his Shiro had been shaped by loss and war into a weapon. He’d become a killer for the sake of survival, or so Keith had thought. Even now without the years in the Resistance, he tore through the Galra in a fury. He used whatever was around him, adapting to the environment as he leveraged himself off of walls and swung one broken drone into the other.

He was beautiful and dangerous. As peaceful as the Koryu lived, they’d trained Shiro well. Maybe they’d actually have a chance at holding their own against the Galra after all. But for all of Shiro’s power, he couldn’t match the sheer brutality of thousands of years of Galra warfare.

Shiro swung another drone in his direction. “Catch!” Keith stumbled, missing his cue as the Antarian-drone slammed into him and sent him sprawling.

Keith crushed it with his bare claws, snarling as he tore through metal. It left veins of purple crawling up his arm, and he could feel the heat behind his eyes as they glowed. He shoved the drone off him. It joined the rest of the scrap metal on the ground.

“If this is your way of getting even, you’re less like him then I thought.”

Shiro flinched, but Keith turned his back on his pained surprise, clutching his anger to his chest like a shield as he stormed into the room. There was movement in his periphery, but it was nothing more than the flickering sparks of damaged machinery. Keith told himself that the twisting in his chest wasn’t nausea.

He pulled up the closest control panel, fingers moving on muscle memory to activate it, before he locked the system more thoroughly than anything the Unilu could have hoped to manage.

“There. We can get back to Captain Mardon now, the way to the core should be clear.” He snapped as confused hesitation flickered along the edges of his mind. He jerked away from Shiro’s touch and from his emotions. “We don’t have time, we need to get down there and help.”

“What’s  _wrong_  with you?” Shiro refused to move as Keith tried to slip passed. “You think I was getting even?”

“I said we don’t have time. We can argue about this later.”

“I’d rather not argue at all, but you’re not listening to me!” Shiro held out his hands, but he didn’t cross the distance between them. He hissed something in a foreign tongue that Keith still couldn’t understand, ears flattened back against his skull. “You can’t shut me out!” Shiro snarled, switching back to Balmeran. “You don’t tell me anything, you don’t trust me enough and so much is lost in this stupid language. I put my trust in you, Keith. I put the lives of my people in your hands because I believe in you, but you’re not acting like my partner. How can I believe you if you won’t talk to me?”

 “Just trust me.”

“How can I when you won’t trust me?” Shiro wavered, his normally impeccable control slipping to reveal the storm that brewed beneath his facade, and Keith didn’t immediately realize what he was seeing. He was so used to seeing Shiro in control that he never stopped to consider how sincere that composure was. He never stopped to think that things could be different.

They stared at each other, tension pulled tight as a wire before Shiro finally sighed. Keith wouldn’t bend without breaking, so one of them had to be patient and focused. “We should go.” Shiro muttered. “They’ll need help with the crystal.”

Keith nodded, burying his fears as deeply as he could and hoped that they didn’t betray him. He couldn’t freeze, not when they were so close. He’d come too far to fail now, even if the weight of the future crushed down on him. This was his chance to make things right, he couldn’t let himself get distracted. He looked over at Shiro, still bristling with anger, and knew exactly why he needed to succeed.

They ran.

Being back aboard a Galra instillation shouldn’t have felt so strange. These were Keith’s people, this was supposed to be home, but it didn’t feel safe anymore. He was a traitor and an enemy slipping behind the lines, using his knowledge to tear apart his people. That had never been his intention. He’d tried to save them once, he’d run to keep Project Zero safe so they wouldn’t destroy themselves with technology they couldn’t hope to control. He hoped that he could do the same now.

They didn’t meet any additional resistance, no Galra drones patrolled the halls and they’d managed this far without setting off alarms. If Captain Mardon’s team could pry the Balmeran crystal from its casing in the com center, the entire hub would go dark and the Galra would lose their advantage in this sector. All they needed was for their luck to hold. The pair burst into the com room just as Captain Mardon eased the fist-sized crystal from the attached machines and held it up in triumph.

“Got it!”

“Then we need to get back to the ship. The systems should start shutting down in a minute or so, that’ll trigger alarms no matter what we do.” Keith warned as they all headed back towards the door. There was a crackle of power, and suddenly an energy field activated, locking down and cutting them off from their escape.

“I can’t let you do that Captain.”

Shiro hissed, singed where he’d been caught by the barrier, but that didn’t stop him from trying to press closer, like he could somehow reach the man responsible. Lieutenant Gurnka cut a miserable picture, staring them down with grim determination, his wrist display still flickering where it had processed the last command.

“Gurnka?” Captain Mardon breathed out, emotion strangling her voice. “You traitor! I’ll have you hung for this, I’ll wring your neck myself.”

“I’m not the one who betrayed our crew! Our people! All for what? To prove you can?!”

“You know damn well that isn’t what this is about!”

“No, it’s about your ego!” Lieutenant Gurnka yelled through the barrier, facing off against his Captain. “You’re dragging us into a war that will kill us all. You’re going to cause the death of the Unilu, at least this way, I can save the others.”

“I’ll hunt you down and the Gathering will witness your death. I’ll have your name removed from the ship’s manifest, you will cease to exist.” Captain Mardon snarled, but her lieutenant just stepped away from the barrier.  

“I’m sorry, Captain. We all do what we have to.”

Alarms blared as the power flickered, emergency lighting casting haunting violet shadows as the Galra systems finally went down. Shiro dove for the control panel, digging his claws into the metal to try and bend it back.

“Do you think you can override the system? We need to get the door open, they’re going to be here any second.”

Keith crouched next to him, sorting through the wires. In theory, the ship should respond to his commands, but he was disconnected from the Galra network to shield their locations. If he reconnected, then they would all be at risk, the entire Empire would know who they were and how to find them. “I can try.”

“NO!” A sharp cry cut through the cacophony and a figure barreled into Gurnka, knocking them to the floor. Chet stood up, defiant and angry, shaking hands holding a blaster trained at the lieutenant.

“W-where? Chet, how did you get here?” He stammered.

“I’m not going to let you kill my mom!” The young stowaway said, voice pitched high with fear.

Gurnka held out all four hands to Chet, pleading with him. “You don’t understand, we  _have_  to stop them. I’m trying to save us all, you know I’d never do anything like this unless I had no choice.”

“She’s my mom!”

“And you’re going to be Captain. I’ve trained you since you were a child, what is a Captain’s greatest duty?”

“T-to the Unilu people.” Chet said like he was reciting a lesson, his weapon wavering. 

“And do you think the Unilu people are ready for war? The Galra won’t stop at just our pilots, they’ll come for our civilian ships too. They’ll destroy all of us if we go up against them, it’s your responsibility to make the right decision.”

Captain Mardon snarled, slamming her fist against the barrier. “Let us OUT! You were always too weak and too cautious, if the Unilu fall, it will be because of cowards like you.”

Static crackled along Keith’s skull, the orders of another Galra Elite responding to the alarms. The drones were coming and their master was on his way.  Keith pressed close to Shiro, anxiety humming through their skin. “Can you get it open?”

“I don’t know, I’m trying. I can’t cut through this!” Shiro whispered back.

“Please Chet,” Gurnka said. “I don’t want to fight you.”

Chet never got the chance to answer. The door blew open under a barrage of laser fire. Both Unilu ducked to the ground, self-preservation as much as luck keeping them alive. Chet froze, of course he froze, faced by a swarm of enemies like he’d never seen before and still struggling to get his wits about him, but when he fired his aim was true. He left the first opponent he ever dueled dead before the drone hit the ground, a lifetime of training spurring him forward where experience couldn’t make the cut. Captain Mardon screamed, banging her fists against the laser field and turning to her blaster in the second. The barrier only absorbed the shot, but Keith couldn’t work any faster.

“Chet look out!”

Gurnka never hesitated. Just as a drone moved to fire, he tackled the younger Unilu to the ground, sending them both skidding across the floor. “Watch your six!” He snapped. “You’re getting back to the ship!”

“No, we’re not leaving my mom!” Chet snapped, still out of breath, his hearts beating so quickly he was sure they’d shatter through his ribs. They didn’t notice the way the drones slowed, or how their attention seemed to waver, the quiet way their circuitry realigned. But Keith did. Everything came to a halt.

“CHET GET OUT OF HERE! CHET YOU HAVE TO RUN!”

The next shot came from down the corridor and took Chet in the back. 

“NO!” Gurnka roared, putting himself in the line of fire, shielding the boy as he gunned down the opposition. It wasn’t enough.

The Galra Commander stepped through the fray, drones moving back to let him pass. There was no mistaking the Elite. Instead of a drone’s blank, waiting expression, his lips were curled back in a cruel smile. The emergency light blended into his violet skin to the tips of his ears as he easily shot the blaster out of Gurnka’s hand. The Unilu yelped, cradling his ruined hand as his other two hands clenched down into fists.

“So you’re the ones causing all this trouble.” The Galra drawled with poisoned humor. “You’re lucky. I don’t usually infect idiots, but it might be worth it to find out what you rebels know.”

“I won’t let you touch him!” Gurnka snarled as the Elite laughed.

“By all means, try and stop us.”

The drones move forward like they were one organism, all extensions of a single mind and primed to attack. Gurnka yelled as he threw himself at the Elite and fought like a wild animal to protect Chet. He didn’t last long, the drones tearing him apart while the Elite laughed.

“ENOUGH!” 

The barrier flickered and disappeared, a sudden surge of energy darkening the hall. Rage and grief pulsed in his veins and in his chest, power burned so painfully, that it felt like his ribs would melt. Chet lay motionless on the floor, body burned and bloody from the Galra’s blaster fire. Pieces of Gurnka stained the deck. He’d been a coward and a traitor, but he’d tried to save his own.

In the center of it all stood Keith, crackling with power.

Violet quintessence raced down Keith’s skin, Koryu shape wavering as his true Galra form broke through. He seized control of the drones with brute force, raging giving him the strength to sever their connection with their old master. The bodies dropped to the floor as empty husks and the Elite’s eyes widened in stunned recognition at seeing another of his kind helping the rebels.

“You-” 

The question in the Elite’s eyes died as quickly as he did. Keith’s blade found its way to his hand like second nature and he thrust the sharpened edge through the Elite’s core before the other Galra could react, severing his spine. With a burble of blood, the Elite collapsed at Keith’s feet, as dead and empty as his drones.

Behind him there was a heavy thud that Keith almost dreaded to face, but when he did, Shiro was there, tense and cautious, but there. He pulled Keith in with a hand on his shoulder, drawing him closer, and Keith suddenly found the strength to breathe. “Chet…” Shiro started, but nothing else followed.

Behind them, Captain Mardon had fallen to her knees, carefully cradling what was left of her son in her hands, deathly pale and worryingly silent. Keith could hear the ragged wet sound of his breathing, painfully loud where gunfire once echoed. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. Keith didn’t want to be here, but he couldn’t look away.

“Keith wait.”

“I have to.” Keith rasped, not entirely sure he’d spoken. He was shaking, the grip around his bloodied dagger numb, the ringing in his ears too loud, but he didn’t know where it was coming from, didn’t know what he’d hear if he could make it stop.

“No. NO!” The Unilu snarled, turning on him with wild eyes. “Don’t touch him!”

“I can save him. Let me save him!” Keith yelled, but her eyes widened in horror, the blood draining from her face, as she raised her blaster, a fatalistic clarity dawning in the most sickening way.

“I won’t let you take him.”

“There’s no time for this!”

Metal beneath the Captain’s feet shrieked and bent, throwing her backwards, and she howled in panic. Shiro tried to stop her, blocking her path, pleading, but she would not be subdued, not when a monster wanted to take her son. Keith couldn’t think. There was no time for second chances. No time for reason. He held Chet close, tried not to notice how light he was, or the warmth that spilled down his chest, the acrid smell of blood so thick he could taste it. Tried not to see the horror, but it was so difficult when he could barely see the person beneath the gore. Keith ran as fast as he dared, but he didn’t need to go far. The ship had told him enough.

A life time ago, Keith thought he’d seen the worst the universe had to offer in a room just like this, when a young Quvari had given his life to slow down what he could never defeat. But Rover was long gone, and Keith knew what needed to be done.

He didn’t want to think about all the times he’d done this before, all the people he’d ‘saved’ and elevated to a higher purpose. There were too many to count, too many faces to remember. He’d been trying to help. He’d always just been trying to help.

The sealed chamber hissed as it slid open and he quickly set Chet inside, closing the glass behind him. “Come on, come on!” Keith pleaded as the lights flickered a few times while the infection program began. Finally, they stayed lit, strong and steady. Keith let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“I’’LL KILL YOU!” Captain Mardon shrieked, finally breaking away from Shiro’s grip and launching herself at Keith. “Galra! I should have trusted my instincts. I’ll destroy every last one of you!”

“He was going to die!” Keith refused to fight, shielding himself from her blows until Shiro pulled the screaming Captain away. She wailed her grief, trying to get to her son even as violet light began to creep along Chet’s skin.

“You’ve infected him!”

“It was the only way. He was dying, at least now this will heal him. He wasn’t going to make it back to your ship.” He pleaded, glancing up at Shiro and hoping he didn’t see revulsion in his eyes. “I know you didn’t want this, but at least he’s alive.”

“He’d be better dead than a Galra.” She spat.

“There may be a way to save him.” Keith blurted and the Captain hesitated, hands raised to strike him again. He could see the desperation in her eyes, the raw pain and loss of her child’s death. She was grasping at any tenuous threads of hope.

“You can stop the process?”

Keith shook his head sorrowfully. “No, but there might be someone who can. Shiro’s brother is working on a cure, I’ve seen what he’s capable of. He’s kept the infection from spreading for up to 10 years and that was just a start. If anyone could-“

She cut him off with a snarl. “He will save Chet?”

“He will try.” Shiro jumped into the conversation. “If we can save my planet, then we can save his research. There’s a chance.”

“You’ve left me with no choice.” Captain Mardon still looked like she might shoot them both, one pair of hands clenched in fists and the other clasping her blaster. Keith didn’t mention the fine tremor in her hands, the hard-nosed Captain overwhelmed by the horror she’d seen. Watching them warily, she placed her hand on the glass of the conversion tube, whispering a soft prayer to protect her son. “We’re taking him with us and we will join your fight to protect the cure. But if you deceive me, every one of my people will hunt you from one end of the galaxy to the other. You will beg for death instead of our justice.”

There was nothing they could say, nothing that would come close to helping, nothing that could make a difference. So they stayed. They stayed as Captain Mardon gathered her crew, and rallied them around the death of Lieutenant Gurnka, a martyr to them all. They stayed as alliances were made in the name of Resistance teams Keith had never fought alongside, but knew too much of. They stayed as Captain Mardon called her most trusted advisers, and the a dark-haired Unilu to her study, to tell them the truth about her son. They stayed as Chet was smuggled away, hidden in the darkest corners of his mother’s ship, away from the prying eyes of those who might take advantage of a tragedy.

They were called heroes. They were called saviors, but when they finally got the chance to leave, Keith couldn’t move fast enough. It felt like he’d been scrubbed raw, left aching at every turn. This hadn’t happened. Chet had been happy when they’d met, viciously resourceful but unafraid to be kind. They’d left him as little more than a head in a jar. The infection had kept him alive, but it had no use for unhealthy tissue. The dismemberment had been swift and merciless. Keith still didn’t know if he would ever wake up.

“Keith…” Shiro said, moving out of the pilot seat as the stars around them blurred at hyperspeed.

“I’m fine.” Keith said, his arms wrapped tight around his middle.

If Chet woke up, Keith wondered how much he’d hate them.

“No you’re not.” It was a gentle rebuttal, a question and an apology all at once. Keith didn’t know how to react, not after everything they’d said and didn’t say, but Shiro was asking and Keith was  _sorry_. "Please, talk to me?”

Frustration welled inside of him, anguished helplessness at everything he’d lost. He carried the power to remake the entire universe inside of him, and he was still fucking it up. A failure, how many times had he heard that before? Never good enough. Too volatile, too impatient. “I let him down.”

“You saved him, that’s all you could do for now. We’ll find a way to help him.”

“There is no way to help him!” Keith’s voice was cutting. “How can you say I saved him when I made him a monster like me? If there was a way, I would have…I could have saved you. I couldn’t, Shiro. I-I couldn’t save anyone.” He broke down, body shuddering as he sobbed for breath. There hadn’t been time enough to grieve properly. He’d been so focused on fixing the past that he hadn’t taken time to give himself time enough to deal with any of the pain. It was easier to push it down, shove it deep where it stayed sharp enough to draw blood, but far enough away to pretend it didn’t exist until he was alone and the sadness swallowed him whole.

“Whatever secrets you won’t tell me, they don’t make you a monster. I’m still here, I’m not going to run away.”

Keith took the first, unsteady step forward, but Shiro met him halfway, finally close enough that the circuit between them completed. A rush of distress flowed like water, so smooth and so deep that Keith thought he was struggling with his own emotions. Shiro exhaled sharply, mumbling something against the shell of Keith’s ear that made him shiver, and by the Light, how did the Koryu ever fight if it felt like this? How did they ever manage feeling, sharing so much?

“I don’t why you’re afraid,” Shiro whispered, and they both knew that he had the capacity to pry. But he didn’t push. How could Keith have underestimated him so much. “You don’t have to tell me until you’re ready, but you can always trust me. You don’t have to leave me behind.”

 _But what if you can’t trust me? What if you know the truth and you hate me too?_ “I’m not leaving you.” Keith promised, unapologetically vicious, his fingers tightening in the back of Shiro’s shirt. “No matter what happens, I’m not leaving you.” That Shiro could ever think that left stung, but not as badly as his need to hold on. “I just… I need more time. I don’t want to, I can’t. Not yet.”

Shiro’s displeasure was honest, but in a muted, resigned sort of way that Keith now understood meant acceptance. He tried to press closer, burying his face in Keith’s hair.

The worst part wasn’t knowing that it could fall apart, it was knowing that he could somehow make it worse.

 

* * *

 

_–Begin Recording?—_

_> >Yes_

The camera panned forward, focusing on Keith even as he stared down at his hands. Dark shadows lined the hollows of his eyes, and he sagged in his seat, folded in on himself like he was looking for a place to hide. Wherever he was, he still couldn’t escape sleepless nights.

“I was born to be a soldier. I was trained to lead an army. I was handed the power to command, but I was always alone. Drones are obedient, but they’re not much company.” He took a breath and ran his hand through his hair. “I worked hard, but it was never enough. I was too emotional, I asked too many questions, there’s even limits on how far an Elite can push. But I  _believed._  They were my family, my people. I believed in their mission with my whole heart, I never questioned anything that we were doing.”

“The first capture was a civilian passenger ship in the Sulli system. I was so proud that I could help those poor people, we were going to save them from their small meaningless organic lives and make them part of something greater. They would become a part of who we were and we would be better because of it.” Keith closed his eyes. “They destroyed their own ship rather than be taken. I never understood why. I would have done anything for my people.”

“When I was Keith, I met a man whose name was Chester, but I don’t think I ever heard anyone ever call him that.” He said. “He was daring, some would say reckless… He never let fear stop him. After the war turned ugly, he was everything I thought a rebel, a hero ought to be. Or maybe I was projecting.”

He laughed, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound, exhaling deeply through his nose. “He thought it was important to save the people everyone else had given up on. He didn’t like leaving anyone behind. There was a time he thought- I thought I was just like him. I could have followed him. He was like Gurnka was, like I used to be. He would have done anything for his people and I-, that was why I _couldn’t_ go with him. You taught me to be different.”

It was impossible to tell if it was regret or relief on Keith’s face, but the camera caught every uncomfortable moment. “I don’t know if Chet can become him again. I don’t know if he’d want to. I was so sure I could save everyone, I never thought I’d make things worse. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. Back then, I don’t know if he got back to Empyrea. I don’t know if he got out alive. And I  _said_  goodbye, so I… It still hurts to think about him.”

Keith looked away.

“I still hurts to think about you too.”

_–End Recording—_


	25. Chapter 25

Shiro hit the ground hard, and didn’t get up again.

“Keep your guard up. You keep forgetting your defence.” Keith barked, bouncing on the balls of his feet, but he had to say Shiro was improving. This time he’d gotten a hit in. The Koryu stood sluggishly, wiping his brow with the hem of his shirt and giving Keith an eyeful of maybe far too much. Keith refused to swayed.

“You’re enjoying this.” Shiro said, distinctly annoyed.

“I do not enjoy watching you make rookie mistakes.”

Except Keith was, but only a little. Shiro scowled at him just the same. There was a guilty sort of satisfaction that came with besting Shiro, heightened by a rush of power that had no business feeling as good as it did. Keith would feel bad about that, but Shiro looked at him with such irritation, he couldn’t help but preen. There was something infinitely satisfying about knowing that Shiro was a sore loser.

“Do you know what you did wrong?”

“Let you talk me into this?”

Keith crossed his arms as Shiro stretched, his face scrunched in exaggerated pain. “You’re pretty good, but there’s room for improvement. You just need more practice.”

“You sound like the trainers at the Garrison.” Shiro grumbled and Keith’s smile widened. It was strange to be the one to teach Shiro, he’d learned so much from his best friend. He’d seen the galaxy for what he though was the first time, he’d learned how to fight, and he’d learned how to be a hero. Now, it was fun to teach Shiro his own lessons and not be the one flipped onto his back every time they sparred.

“Maybe you should have listened to them?”’

A wicked glint caught in Shiro’s eyes and he spun with unexpected agility, knocking Keith’s feet out from under him. He hit the floor of the Freedom with a thud. Ugh, he spoke too soon. But Shiro was laughing, happiness radiating through his skin as he reached down to grasp Keith’s hand and pull him up and Keith couldn’t complain when all he wanted to do was wrap himself in the feeling. It made him warm, a welcome flush all the way down to his toes.

“Okay, point made.” He said more gruffly than he meant and Shiro saw through his bluster easily. Shiro looked smug and Keith wanted to lean in and steal that smirk from his lips. They were both tired and sweaty, working out their frustrations together instead of bottling everything inside until it shattered. Keith hadn’t realized how much he needed the release to help rebalance things between them.

They charged, coming together in a clash that left Keith’s teeth knocking around in his skull. Shiro was lightning quick and stubborn as hell, but he was sloppy where he hadn’t used to be. Keith braced himself and pushed free, taking advantage of an opening in Shiro’s defences. “What’d I say about keeping your arm u- ACK!”

Shiro tackled him, twisting on a dime and moving with his momentum. He shoved Keith to the mat, grinning with wicked intent as his arm braced against Keith’s windpipe. His hair fanned over his brow, his eyes cast in shadow as he whispered, “Am I as good as him yet?”

Keith’s breath caught in his throat, a rush of warmth spreading all the way down to his chest, but when he shoved, Shiro went flying.

The Koryu landed with a breathless oof, shaking himself off with an uncharacteristically petulant whine. “No super strength when training, you said!”

Except Keith didn’t hear him. The heat in his abdomen spread, claiming his belly and the tips of his shoulders and it started to throb, as heavy as a bass drum, and for a moment, with his claws digging into his chest, he couldn’t breathe.

“Keith?”

Fire spilled through him, the weapon in his chest trying to sear itself free of his flesh. There was too much power, it was never meant to be contained, especially not by Galra tech. He’d woken the machine and it fed on his own systems, growing in strength until it threatened to overwhelm him. 

Shiro scooped him up easily in his arms, rushing him to the infirmary as Keith gasped. He tried to reassure Shiro, but there wasn’t air enough in his lungs to speak. Shiro laid him down on the cushions of the medical bed and Keith hissed at the touch.

“F-fine, I’m fine.” He croaked hoarsely as Shiro strapped an oxygen mask to his face.

“You’re going to be okay, just take deep breaths. I’m not much of a medic, you need to tell me what’s wrong!”

“I’m fine.” Keith repeated, his breath fogging up the respirator, but he barely heard himself. Slowly but surely, the grip of heat bled through, and Shiro’s concern washed over him, thick and soft like fleece. It was nice, like the way clouds convinced you they’d feel. Maybe this was why Koryu wanted to nap so much? It had to be genetic. Shiro still looked worried, so Keith reached out to him, trying to placate him. “It happens sometimes, but it goes away.”

“What?” There was a barrage of annoyance and confusion before it was quickly swept away in a wave of compassion.

“It’s normally not this bad,” Keith added, trying to ease Shiro’s worry and was mentally repremanded for his efforts. Keith had no business feeling as good about that as he did. Shiro scowled at him, smoothing down his hair as he brought up the med bay’s control panels. A three-dimensional diagram of a Koryu shape came up, dotted with long lines of text that Keith still had difficulty recognizing, but he recognized the little scribble at the top. That was his name. It brought a little burst of pride that didn’t feel just like Keith’s.

“It’s been happening a while? Why didn’t you tell me?” Shiro murmured, but Keith didn’t have an answer he would like.

“We had other things to worry about.”

“If you’re not well, then we have to worry about that too.” Shiro said softly, tracing down Keith’s cheek. “You’re not expendable.”

The touch was feather light, but it reignited that fire inside of him. Not as painful as before, but all consuming. He felt like an exposed nerve, susceptible to even the whisper of motion, and he gave a shuddering gasp. “I’m okay, it’s okay.” Keith murmured, leaning back on the cushions and hoping they could steal some of the heat that radiated from his skin. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing!” Shiro chided. “We’re a team, that means you have to tell me if something’s wrong. You have to talk to me.” He looked so serious, face drawn. If Keith didn’t feel so lightheaded and giddy, he would have been worried. Instead, he reached out and brushed his fingers through Shiro’s hair and watched the Koryu’s eyes widen in shock, pupils dilating a sudden black.  

“Keith-“

“I’m sorry.” He murmured. “I didn’t want you to worry.” Keith rubbed his fingers against Shiro’s fuzzy ears, just where he know the Koryu liked it. “If it was something serious, I would have told you. It’s never been this bad.”

“It’s not possible.” Shiro whispered, expression caught between shock and something darker that made Keith want to tease out of him. “You’re Galra, you’re just shaped like a Koryu.”

Shiro wasn’t making any sense and Keith didn’t want to argue anymore. The pain had faded even if the heat hadn’t, settling low in his gut with a twisted tension. He almost laughed at the panic in Shiro’s eyes. “I told you I’m okay, what’s going on?”

“It’s not supposed to hurt,” Shiro said, but he sounded unsure, easily distracted the longer Keith touched him. “Keith wait, you…”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Keith murmured, drawing him in with a firm hand. He felt Shiro pull back, but only for a second. He came with the gentlest urging. So eager to touch, it thrummed beneath Shiro’s skin, calling out to him no matter how he hesitated, all Keith had to do was push. He never meant for it to go so far. A flood of warmth spilled over, dizzying and intoxicating all in one breath and oh that was Shiro. That was  _Shiro_ , and Keith couldn’t tell where he ended and where he began, but he tasted like wine when they kissed, and Keith was never letting go.

Need burst through their connection like static as Shiro growled, low and possessive. The sound made Keith’s body tighten, his hands clenching harder into Shiro’s hair as he licked across the sharp point of a fang. When they finally broke apart to breathe, Shiro looked flushed and dazed. It was a good look on him. He was always so composed and controlled, it was nice to throw him off balance and watch him squirm. Keith wondered just how far he could go.

“We have to stop.” Shiro croaked, pulling away reluctantly as Keith made a soft sound of distress and tried to keep him close. “You’re going through heat, I-I don’t know how this is possible.”

Heat? That was stupid, he was Galra. But the word dredged up memories of Shiro’s struggle, alone and isolated when he’d missed the warning signs. Images of sweat-slick skin and crashing pleasure broke through their connection as Shiro yanked away, breathing hard. Oh shit. 

“I didn’t mean to!” Keith pleaded. He hated how much like a whine it sounded.

“We did this before.” Keith could read Shiro’s emotion even without touch, the confusion and cautious betrayal playing over his expression. “You went into heat before?”

“Not me.” Keith struggled to focus on the words and not how red Shiro’s mouth looked or how he dropped his eyes, embarrassed at that revelation.

“I’m sorry. I should have had more control.”

“I’m not.” Keith caught Shiro’s shirt on his claws and pulled him close. “I want you.”

The barest trace of regret slipped through Shiro’s skin. He’d always felt so open, Keith wondered just how much the other man had managed to keep hidden.

“You don’t.” Shiro said gently, trying to pull himself free. “It’s just your cycle. We need to get you back to your room so you can burn this off. It might take a few days, but you’ll get through this. I’ll scrub the ship and stay away so I won’t be affected.”

“Shiro.”

Keith’s hands slipped under the hem of his shirt, rucked up and wrinkled, the past few hours coming back to haunt him. The feel of Shiro’s body beneath him, over him, pinned between his legs and gasping for breath. Now Shiro shuddered beneath Keith’s touch, his mouth falling open without intent, his tongue darting out to wet the pink curve of his mouth. It was obscene.

Shiro inhaled sharply, mouth curving around a prayer, but all Keith could feel was the tight coil of anticipation that burned through him, like a drowning man still waiting for his breath of air. Keith dragged his hand across his chest, over skin velvet smooth but marked with a completely different story, and Keith could feel what it felt like to be teased. He cupped Shiro’s chin and his own heart stuttered, body twisting in on itself, and he couldn’t stop.

“You know that’s not true.”

Shiro gave a pained groan. He buried his face in Keith’s neck and breathed deeply, drunk off the scent. It was irresistible, written in the most primal part of him, his instincts screaming at him to abandon everything in Keith’s arms. This was embarrassing, people these days had better control over themselves! But he’d slipped before, the memories leaking through their bond was enough to make him flustered, hesitating when he knew he should pull away. He had always wanted to know how close they’d been in the future, but this?

“It’s just your instincts. I know this is going to be rough, but you will get through it.” Shiro’s voice softened. “I’m not going to take advantage of you, I never will.”

“Light, you’re slow.” Keith snarled, tightening his grip in Shiro’s hair. “You think some weird alien boner instinct is enough to cloud my judgement? I want you, Shiro. Not another version of you, just you. There’s no one around to interrupt us this time, I want-” Keith gave a muffled yelp as his words were swallowed in Shiro’s mouth, the other man kissing him hard enough to steal his breath. Now that was more like it. He arched back on the med bay bed and dragged his hands down Shiro’s back. They came up laughing as they touched their foreheads together.

“And you’re sure you want this?”

“If you wanted me to beg, Shiro, you should have just said so.”

Shiro shuddered, a full-bodied thing that Keith felt at his fingertips. He couldn’t stop touching him, following the panes of his chest and the hard lines of his body to where he could hold. He could feel Shiro’s uncertainty bleeding away, like a physical weight was being lifted off his shoulders, twisting into eagerness everywhere they touched but it wasn’t enough.

“Take this off for me.” He said tugging at Shiro’s shirt, the easy authority in his voice belying the hunger that burned in his eyes. Hs fingers dug into Shiro’s waist, holding him still as he rucked up against him. Light, he wanted him like this, wanted him on his cock, riding him and Shiro went scarlet, his eyes glazing over and Keith could feel the moment the fantasy clicked, could feel the way Shiro ached for it and they weren’t even really touching. He pushed him back, pushed him, snarling into his mouth, trying to tear at him, and Shiro laughed, breathlessly eager, and there to catch Keith.

They over-balanced at the same time and nearly fell off the bed.

They laughed again as Shiro lifted him so easily that Keith could feel himself blushing, steadying themselves on the med bay bed. “Have to do this right.” Shiro said, his voice huskier than normal, and Keith beat back a strange desire to purr in response. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.”

“How long?” Keith gasped as Shiro slid rough, calloused hands around him before slipping the shirt up over his head. The hit of cool air against his fevered body only made him burn all the hotter.

“Since I saw you. How could I resist someone so handsome?” Shiro teased. “Since I felt you in my mind. I’ve never felt this kind of connection before, it was too fast. Like I had been waiting for you.”

They were sweet words and any other time, Keith would have enjoyed them more if he could keep himself from being distracted by the feel of Shiro’s cock, hard and trapped against the front of his pants. Keith growled in the back of his throat, shucked off his shirt and hooked his fingers into his own waistband, lifting his hips to wiggle free of the confining clothing. “Fuck me.” 

Maybe not as eloquent as Shiro’s confession, but it had the desired effect.  
Shiro’s eyes went wide as they swept down his body, shamelessly lingering over every toned plane and muscle. His mouth opened slightly as Keith preened, arching back to put himself on display to goad Shiro into action. It didn’t take much. Shiro lifted him again like he was weightless, slamming his weight up against the smooth wall of the Freedom as he fit himself between Keith’s legs.  
The cold against his back left Keith gasping, and heels digging into Shiro’s calves, he wrapped himself around his mate. _Mate._  It echoed back to him, a thought so warm and intimate it could’ve been his own, and Shiro yanked on his hair, forcing his neck up and kissed him. Slick wet heat and filthy tongue, he took Keith apart like he owned him, and Keith wanted to tear him apart.  
  


“Off,” Keith demanded, struggling to hold his form as he yanked at Shiro’s collar. “Off, wanna feel-”

The words were lost under the feel of Shiro’s mouth, stolen and Keith never wanted them back. Shiro’s hands were in his hair, then down his neck and chest and Keith wanted, Keith wanted so much. He ground against Shiro, bucking against him, his cock hard and dripping against Shiro’s chest, his back sliding down the metal of the wall.

“Fuck you’re so hot,” Shiro slurred, but his fingers were working between Keith’s legs and Keith couldn’t think straight. He tried to urge Shiro, kicking into the flesh of his thigh. A twisted, broken sound rang through his ears, and Keith didn’t realize it was him until Shiro was shushing him, mouth moving across his neck in a way that made Keith’s eyes feel heavy.

“I know, I know,” Shiro whispered, working his fingers inside him. They slid in easy, like Keith had prepped himself for hours, hungry for this, desperate for it. He wouldn’t stop moving, trying to coax Shiro deeper, demanding more with every inch of his body. “Keith, wait.”

Suddenly, his arms were being pulled above him, trapped against the wall as thick vines twisted between his wrists. “Shiro.” He barked out, the own frantic edge to his voice not enough to embarrass him, not now. “Shiro please, please.”  
Shiro moved closer, blanketing him with his body, and something inside Keith loosened, like a knot coming undone. Another rush of warmth spread across him, making Keith want to squeeze his legs together, and Shiro cursed under his breath, mumbling, “Come on Keith, I need you to slow down or I’m gonna do…”

“Okay.” He said, defiantly composed if only for the moment. “Do me.”

He’d never experienced an ache like this, body clenching around emptiness and desperate to be filled.  If only Shiro wasn’t so blasted slow. The vines pulled at his wrists and held him still, unable to grab on to Shiro to spur him on. “Come on.” He whined impatiently and could feel Shiro’s amusement through his touch.

He arched back as he felt Shiro move against him, the Koryu fumbling with the opening of his pants without bothering to kick them off entirely. Shiro’s shirt followed and suddenly Keith was drowning in feeling, unable to tell where he ended and where Shiro began. Thoughts blended, memories mixed with the present, and he could feel himself as if Shiro’s hands were his own.

Shiro’s cock teased against his hole before slowly stretching him wide. He filled Keith, inch by inch, as Keith begged for more. When he finally bottomed out, Shiro rested his head against Keith’s shoulder, breath coming in shuddering gasps as Keith squeezed around him. “You feel so good.”

The reply died on Keith’s lips as Shiro moved, slowly at first but each thrust rocking him back against the wall. Shiro was thick enough to split him in too and fill that empty ache. He tried to move his own hips to meet that rhythm, but Shiro’s weight kept him pinned, his neglected cock trapped between them.  

But oh Light,  _oh Light_  he could feel him, feel Shiro’s pleasure coursing through him, every slow thrust dragging through him, carving him open. Feel the tight suction of hot wet heat bearing down on him, trembling when Shiro pushed deeper until there was nothing Keith could do but sob. He could feel it bubbling inside him, each dirty fuck punching straight to his core, and Shiro wouldn’t stop, fast and filthy like Keith was just there for him to use.

“Oh fuck oh god Keith-”

Keith didn’t know what he’d said, or what he’d thought, what bled through or what he’d screamed. It didn’t matter, because Shiro knew.

Shiro painted fire across his skin, hot wet kisses burned across his throat, his chest. The scratch of fangs promising so much more, and Keith’s head fell back with a numbing thunk. He was slipping, his knees sliding down the curve of Shiro’s hips, but Shiro grabbed him, his big hands on his ass and pulled him forward. His mate groaned against him, dragging him down until his back lifted off the wall and he was nearly horizontal. His arms straining in a burning stretch, Keith couldn’t care. Shiro was still inside him, but the angle pushed him so much deeper. He was the only thing holding Keith up, and there was no leverage to push on, nothing to catch him and Keith came howling. He spilled between them, cum splattering across his belly, but Shiro just kept going.

Shiro swallowed down Keith’s screams as he licked the sharp edge of his partner’s fangs, wringing out every wave of pleasure until Keith’s taut body went limp. He pulled out with a snarl, cock still hard. Keith huffed a laugh as Shiro dragged his fingers through the mess on his stomach. “Your fucking stamina.”

“So I’ve always gave you a good ride?” Shiro teased, tracing his cum-slick fingers across Keith’s lips. The Galra licked them clean, sucking Shiro’s fingers into his mouth as Shiro watched him with dark, hooded eyes.

The question could have flustered him, but Keith decided to give Shiro a taste of his own medicine. He pulled at the vines, demanding to be released and Shiro carefully unwound him. His wrists were red from the bonds and sticky with sap, but not raw. His legs didn’t want to support him, so he wrapped his arms around Shiro’s neck to keep himself standing, and pressed a kiss against the sweaty skin between them.

“I think you should ask how good I made you feel.” There was definitely a purr in Keith’s voice now and he felt the goose bumps race down Shiro’s skin. “How much you always wanted me to knot you.” Shock raced through their connection, followed closely by embarrassment and a thread of excitement so quickly that Keith laughed. “So is that a yes?”

“Do you want to?” Shiro whispered, but there was a tension in his words that his tone betrayed. Shiro was dizzying, and Keith wanted to lose himself inside him. Something about his scent, his taste made Keith’s nerves stand on end. A rush of want and heat raced down his spine and dug into his belly. He was already getting hard, the fever reigniting after barely a minute to breathe, and Keith didn’t want it to stop.

He took Shiro in hand, the only answer Keith cared to give, felt the way his knees went week when he stroked just so. He loved the feel of his cock, thick and long and heavy against his palm, missed the feel of it in his mouth, of having it inside him. So many things they hadn’t done yet and all the time in the universe to rectify it.

“You’re going to be so good for me.” Keith said. It was an order.

They almost didn’t make it to the bedroom.

They tumbled into the Captain’s quarters, more interested in each other than the direction they were going. Keith hit the bed with a sigh, arching off of smooth sheets that were blissfully cool against his back. Then Shiro was on top of him, straddling his hips and kissing him like there was nothing else he’d rather spend his life doing. His tongue was velvet smooth and greedy, so fucking greedy, and when they pulled away, Keith could still taste him on his lips.

Clumsy hands struggled to yank Shiro’s pants all the way off as they wiggled and fought to free him. They shared a laugh, shared everything. The last time they’d been together, it had only been a burst of their connection, a moment of emotion to fill the silence inside. A slip of a memory breaking through as a dream of a peaceful blooming tree beside a still pond. There was nothing peaceful or silent now.

Shiro finally pulled his pants off and settled his weight on Keith’s hips. He held himself from crushing the smaller man as Keith couldn’t help but buck slightly just to feel his cock slide against the curve of Shiro’s ass. He sat up slightly so he could dig his hands into Shiro’s ass, spreading them as he thrust up. Shiro reached behind him to grasp around Keith’s length, guiding him until the head of Keith’s cock popped through the tight ring of muscle. With a groan, Shiro eased himself back as Keith buried himself deep inside.

“You’re not the only one who’s waited a long time for this.” Keith hissed as Shiro lifted himself up on his knees, rocking back to fuck himself over and over. Keith dug his hands into Shiro’s hips, claws just prickling through the skin, meeting Shiro with every thrust. Slick dribbled down the backs of Shiro’s thighs, body hungry for Keith’s touch.

He moved into Keith, leaning over him as he rocked himself on his cock, trying to brace himself as he took in inch after inch, feeling Keith disappear into him until he was just edging on sore, the thick base of his cock making his thighs tremble. His eyes were screwed shut, mouth parted as he panted for air, the muscles on his neck coiled with tension. Keith traced with his tongue, licking the sweat off his skin. Each thrust punched soft, broken noises from Shiro, Keith could feel them rumbling in his throat, and if he didn’t know better, if he couldn’t feel everything, he’d have thought he was hurt but Shiro was good, Shiro was so good. Just, just…

“Shiro, Shiro…”

“Mhm…”

“Not enough.”

“ _Mhm?_ ”

Shiro hit the mattress hard as Keith flipped them over, his eyes glassy and unfocused, a dark flush spreading all the way down to his naval. Keith kissed him just like that, licking open his slack, wanting mouth as he ground his dick into him until his lungs were screaming for air and Shiro couldn’t take it anymore. He put Shiro on his knees, his ass up in hungry invitation, and the first time Keith pushed in, he gasped. Sweat pooled in the soft curve of his back, his body spread out like a feast, opening him for Keith so easily. Keith devoured him, licking across broad shoulders, over smooth tattoos he never had the chance to memorize, over everything he’d never had the time to savor. His teeth sank into the flesh of his arm and he kissed it better as his lover sobbed, fucking him so hard, Shiro’s arms gave way beneath him and he cried into his pillows, nothing more than a writhing mess beneath him.

“Keith, please.” Shiro slurred, spit dribbling down the corner of his lips, voice so rough it scrubbed Keith raw. “I wanna-” 

Keith yanked him up by the hair, nearly bending him in two, kissing him as he ached, and Shiro cried into his mouth. He came all at once, spilling into their sheets, but Keith fucked him through his orgasm, to a soundtrack of slick wet skin on skin and heavy breathing. Shiro trembled around him, bearing down on his dripping cock and Light it felt so good, felt like he was drawn into a storm and helpless to its thunder. Shiro braced himself with every thrust, moving back to meet him, squirming now, oversensitive and gaping but too cum drunk to pull away.

“Keith?” He rasped, half-muffled by his pillow, barely even recognizable. “Am I better than him?”

It sent Keith over the edge all at once, spilling inside Shiro. He pounded him hard and fast, fucked his cum right out of his ass, until Shiro was squirming in pain and pleasure, a soft strangled mewl caught his throat. Something thickened at his base, slamming into Shiro’s sloppy hole. It hurt when it shoved in, yanked out before Shiro could draw breath and he couldn’t even scream.

It swelled until he couldn’t move, locked deep inside Shiro and milking every last shuddering drop with every tug against his knot. Keith collapsed against Shiro’s back, exhausted and wrung dry, panting for breath as his lingering orgasm sparked along the ends of his raw nerves. This satisfied some kind of primal urge inside of him that he couldn’t understand as anything other than mine. My mate. Possessive and simple and echoed back in Shiro’s thoughts.

_Mine._

He rested his cheek on Shiro’s back, gently mouthing the sweaty skin and licking the salt from his lips. It was a short reprieve before the need would claim them both again, but he was happy to let exhaustion claim him. By the time his knot shrunk enough to pull free with a wet pop, he was almost too tired to move. Keith let Shiro roll them, nuzzling down into the other man’s arms with his eyes already half closed. He could feel Shiro’s laughter before he heard it.

“So that’s a yes?”

Keith just grunted.

Shiro brushed the damp hair from his face and Keith went cross-eyed trying to watch him before he moved closer, resting their foreheads together. Relief flickered through him, contentment, pleasure, a slight edge of embarrassment, and so much love. Keith had never been so thankful for the Koryu language.

“I might have to write this memory in my skin. Somewhere private.” Shiro murmured and a smile tugged at the corner of Keith’s lips.

“Maybe I should too?”

That wasn’t what Shiro expected and he started, pulling back to look at Keith. A Galra could be Koryu shaped, but they weren’t really Koryu. At least, that’s what he thought before Keith slipped into heat. “You’d really want to do that?”

“Yeah.” Keith grabbed Shiro’s wrist and dragged his mouth down the elaborate marks in a lazy kiss. “I really mean it.”

_Mine._

Shiro’s entire body rumbled with the purr that grated in his chest as he pulled Keith up and wrapped his arms around him.

 

* * *

 

The next few days were lost in a barely coherent haze of sticky satisfaction. It was a miracle they remembered how to eat, and somehow dragged themselves away from each other long enough to keep from melting away completely. Though what they did in the mess hall probably meant every meal for the foreseeable future was going to be uncomfortable.

Keith was sore and aching in a bone-deep way he normally associated with a long work out, but they’d somehow managed to transcend that. It was a team effort. He was very proud of both of them.

When he woke up, he was bundled in far too many blankets, but for the first time in what seemed like an eon, he was calm. The fire beneath his skin had extinguished, and his thoughts were clear. He knew before he opened his eyes that Shiro was gone, but he didn’t want to admit it. The Captain’s quarters were silent, save for his own shallow breathing, and Keith curled into himself, pretended it was going to be okay.

He knew how this ended.

Light, he’d made this mistake before. He knew exactly how this played out. The first time, Shiro caught him off guard, but now, he’d barrelled straight into a wall he knew existed. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he screwed his eyes shut like he could make it go away. He didn’t know how he could mourn Shiro when their journey was so far from over, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Keith didn’t go looking for him until he was ready.

By then he was prepared, his armor back in place. His furry ears shrunk and disappeared, features flattening into a human shape that kept all of his secrets locked inside where Shiro couldn’t see them. It was too late for this, he knew that. He’d been so afraid Shiro would find out the truth, about who he’d been and about how he’d failed. The real history of the monster inside. He’d held it close as long as he could, but there’d been no secrets over the last few days. He’d shared more deeply than he’d ever meant to and it was too late to take it back.

He found Shiro on the bridge, dressed and clean, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked out at the endless field of stars beyond the glass dome around them. Shiro was wrapped in silence with a sadness that seemed to settle over him. Or was it loneliness? The light played over his face, catching in his hair and Keith breathed in sharply, seeing a dead man for the briefest moment.

Shiro’s ear twitched and he turned, brows furrowed at Keith’s strange shape. Keith stepped closer, heart racing and ready for the confrontation. “So, you know.”

“I know.”

Any hope that he’d managed to keep his secrets disappeared, leaving Keith sick inside. He drew himself up, falling back on too many ears of being an Elite. “Then it’s over.”

“Keith…”

“If you know everything, then you know you’re not like him. You’ll never be. We made a mistake.” He dug in claws, trying to hurt because he wasn’t sure he could go through with this if it didn’t. Shiro had pulled away before he could hurt Keith, just another thing Shiro did better than him. Why couldn’t he change anything?  
Shiro reached out to brush his knuckles against Keith’s arm and recoiled. “I can’t hear you.”

It was the look of betrayal on Shiro’s face that stopped Keith. Harder than a punch to the gut, more potent than anything either one of them could say. He saw Shiro shrink away, and told himself that was good; it was exactly what he wanted. He couldn’t even lie to himself in this form, but his voice never faltered.

“Then listen to what I’m saying.” He fixed Shiro with a steely grin, told himself this would hurt less if he did it quickly. Keith told himself a lot of things. If he repeated them enough, he might even believe them. “This should never have happened. When it started - I was looking for someone, and I was desperate enough to see him in you. I said things I didn’t mean, and that’s my fault, but this has to end right now.”

Shiro was quiet for a long time, frozen in place like a mannequin and caught between shadow in light. Keith was shaking, so minutely he couldn’t stop it, but he balled his hands into fists and tried to bear it just a few minutes longer.

“You’re a real asshole, you know that?” Shiro frowned.

“It’s over, aren’t you listening?”

“I would if you actually said something, but you silenced yourself.” Shiro snapped, his legendary patience at its breaking point. “I already saw what I was through your eyes and maybe what I lived through in your future changed me, but I know who I am. I know the kind of person I chose to be and that didn’t change.”

“That’s not what I-”

Shiro poked his finger hard into Keith’s chest. “You think I don’t know every part of you by now? Your memories, your feelings, I know more about you than you. You’re an asshole and an idiot.”

“Then you know why this is over!” Keith’s voice broke and he hated how weak that made him sound. “I did what I was supposed to and I never questioned any of it. I led them as one of their Elites, I gave everything to help my people ‘save’ everyone else. I watched them resist and die, but I took them anyways and filled them with metal until they served us as drones, and I believed that I was making them better. I was exactly like the ones who will be infecting your people and destroying your world.” He snarled, letting the rage build inside of him and hoping he could turn and run before it turned to tears. “I am Galra!”

“Is that all you are?”

The question settled between them, as heavy as a stone, and Keith could feel its weight pressing down on his lungs. Shiro wouldn’t look away from him. He hadn’t raised his voice, but he didn’t need to. “I’ve seen your truth. I’ve seen what matters in your heart. And I’ve seen your past as you’ve seen mine. I don’t think that’s all you are, but that’s not my decision to make.”

Keith opened his mouth and shut it with a snap. He could feel the blood draining out of his face; it left him light-headed and uncertain, but no answer was forthcoming.

“But Light, you’re such an asshole, why would you…” For the first time, Shiro stumbled, his expression crumpling, and there was more he was saying. Keith knew it in his very bones, and the absence left him hollow. It was too easy to slip between shapes, to come back into Shiro’s range with a hesitant touch as human melded into Koryu. That was all it took to shatter the damn, spilling everything between them, and Keith pulled Shiro into his arms. Part of him swore he’d never let go.

A wave of loneliness and fear came back. Twice now he’d cut Shiro off, twice now he’d lied to him after he specifically promised he wouldn’t. The difference was astounding. Keith would have been no less cruel if he’d gouged out Shiro’s eyes. He buckled under the weight of his fears, but Shiro’s taken on some of Keith’s, and the burden no longer seemed so crushing.

“I’m sorry,” Keith whispered. Again. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know who I am, Keith. You have to decide who you are, too.”

“I’m trying!” Keith bit back, his face pressed against Shiro’s chest. His emotions screamed, too confused and upset to speak clearly. “I wasn’t ready yet. This wasn’t how I wanted to tell you. I’m not a Koryu, I don’t know how you can share so much with someone else. I might look like you, but I’m still Galra. I need time, Shiro. I have to figure this out.”

Shiro’s expression softened. “Then we’ll take some time and figure this out, but I’m here when you need me. Being Galra doesn’t affect anything.”

“You know it does. Everything we’ve done and everything the Galra are is a part of me. Will you be able to accept that?” Keith whispered, hope a dangerous thing to hold.

“Yes.” Shiro didn’t even hesitate as Keith held his breath. “The things I saw it’s-, the man you used to be was frightening. I think we both need a little time to figure it out, but yes. I love you, Keith. I can accept who you are now instead of who you were in the past, can you do the same with who I am instead of who I could be in the future?”

Even if Keith knew better, it felt like an accusation. Shiro bristled against him, but it was half-hearted at best, like a quiet sort of acknowledgement.

“Sometimes when I look at you, I still miss him,” Keith admitted. “But that’s not… because of you, or because of him, it’s just. Sometimes you miss the people you leave behind.” Maybe it was something they both knew, but acknowledging it gave it a new sort of strength. But it was also a pain that they were both familiar with. “But I know you’re not him, and I don’t ever want you to be.”

If anything, it spoke of Shiro’s strength that Keith could recognize his past in the man he’d become. Keith just wished that there had been some peace for him, at the end of it all. He tightened his grip around his partner, sinking in his embrace. There was a thread of something sickly between them, a horror they were unwilling to face, jealousy and bitterness, but it was the same with every significant truth they faced. Acceptance didn’t have to be pretty. It just had to last.

“I’ve got you. It’s okay, I’ve got you.” Shiro whispered.

It was all Keith could hope for, and the concern that warmed his bones made him feel whole again. It made him feel peace. He was going to take care of Shiro, too. He wasn’t going to be the one who hurt him anymore. A thousand promises Keith wanted to make, but a flash of heat stopped him in his tracks. The pain came a second later, twisting like a knife in the center of his chest and choking the life out of him without mercy.

“Keith? Keith!”

Keith never got the chance to scream.

 

* * *

 

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	26. Chapter 26

Keith’s insides burned as every heartbeat pumped molten metal through his veins. There was too much power breaking him apart. He screamed and writhed, fingers knotted in sweaty sheets until they tore.

Then nothing.

Pain came in waves, agony that wrung his body dry before darkness swallowed him again.

When he finally woke, the room was dark. In his chest was a dull ache like a healing bruise that throbbed slightly every time he moved. He was in the Captain’s quarters? It was hard to see with the lights turned down, but the night blooming flowers had opened and their faint bioluminescence cast a blueish glow across the room. He slowly sat up, and Shiro caught his movement, startling awake where he’d slipped into an exhausted nap in the chair beside the bed.

“Keith’re you alright…?”

Keith tried to speak, but his voice was too raw for words. Shiro poured a cool glass of water and held it to his lips as Keith took a few grateful swallows before laying back against the damp, shredded pillows. “Sorry. I’m okay. I’m sorry.” He reached for Shiro’s face, earning a frail smile as the Koryu moved in close and let Keith trace down his jaw. 

“What’s happening?”

Keith didn’t answer immediately. He just pulled, and pulled, until Shiro tumbled into the space beside him. Keith tucked himself greedily into his mate’s arms, and the first tendrils of amusement bloomed between them.

“I’m okay.” Keith repeated, but Shiro huffed at him, warm breath teasing against the curve of Keith’s ears. It was ticklish and playful, and for the first time, Keith was shaken. He’d always known this was a possibility. He’d just overestimated how much time he had left. Project Zero drew from his systems like he was a battery and cannibalizing his own energy to fuel its own. He was dying.

“Keith.” Shiro started, a warning and a plea twisted beneath his voice.  _Don’t cut me out. Don’t lie to me._

Keith craned his neck, pressing their foreheads together with a sigh. Shiro was quiet as he tried to coax answers from him, the push of his thoughts gentle but insistent, before the Koryu nuzzled against his skull, only the faintest hint of disappointment bleeding through. “I don’t understand.”

Keith wished he didn’t have to tell him. “Do you remember… that weapon, I told you about? In the very beginning.” Shiro nodded hesitantly. “I never told you how I stopped it.”

He laced his fingers with Shiro’s, pressing their hands against his chest. The power to rewrite the entire universe, to take it apart atom by atom. It was too much for any one person to hold and Keith had never meant to keep it. “The Galra built it to spread our virus to all organic beings at once. No more resistance, no more war, everyone everywhere would be Galra. We took technology we didn’t understand and forced it to be this weapon…  _I_  forced it.” He swallowed hard, fingers curling tighter around Shiro’s. Simple and honest, and utterly terrifying.

“You want to stop it though, that’s what you said.”

“I do now. At first I-” Keith’s voice cracked and he buried his face into Shiro’s warmth, closing his eyes as he relived the memories. At least this time, he managed to stop himself from sharing them by accident. “I believed it was the right thing, I gave everything I was to this project. I hurt people, Shiro. I tortured them to make them work on the design, and I was so willing to turn everyone into drones. I thought-, I thought it would help them.”

“But you stopped.” Shiro said gently, tipping Keith’s face up. “You’re here trying to stop them, you changed.”

“Did I? Someone showed me that what I was doing was dangerous. Project Zero, this weapon, it was too powerful for even the Galra to use. We didn’t know how to control it, we could have destroyed the entire universe if we used it. I couldn’t let my people die like that, I had to destroy the weapon first, even if it meant being a traitor.” A sputter of pain flickered through his chest as if the device responded to hearing its name. “I hid it in the one place I knew they wouldn’t look to smuggle it out. I tried to wipe it clean, purge everything to make sure no one could ever use it again.” He laughed bitterly. “The only thing I managed to wipe clean was my own memories. The escape afterwards, it cost too much.”

A swell of dismay caught in Keith’s throat. After all this time, he would’ve thought it’d stop hurting. Only organics lets such frivolities hold them back. To the Galra, an honorable death was a cause of celebration. It was a mentality Keith had kept for most of his long life, yet what he could remember of that escape brought him no joy.

“When he- when  _you_  found me, I honestly thought I was human. And eventually, when we tried to regain my memories, to restart my circuitry, we must have reactivated Project Zero. I think it’s what’s causing all this.” Keith quieted. That Project Zero was killing him was a poetic sort of justice. 

Shiro’s eyes narrowed. “Then we’ll find a way to stop it. You said people helped you build it before, right? We’ll find them here, before the Galra do, and if they’re helping you, they can’t help them. Or we destroy it. We can remove it, right? We’ll shoot it into a star or something, no one will ever be able to use it and it won’t hurt you anymore.” Shiro said adamantly.

“And what if blowing it up sucks us all into some temporal black hole? Or what if we set it off again trying to get it out of me? Erasing it was the only safe way I could think of to get rid of it without ripping time and space apart, and even that didn’t work. Until we find a way that does work, I can’t let it out of my hands. It’s too dangerous.”

“But it’s killing you.” Shiro dropped a kiss to Keith’s shoulder, love and fear humming together. “I won’t lose you.”

How many times had Keith thought the same thing as the Galra virus had slowly eaten away at Shiro’s body and mind? Shiro had that same stubborn denial, as if love alone could change the inevitable. He couldn’t let this end the way it had before.

“When we find the Paladin, maybe…” Keith didn’t offer more. Hope was better when it was vague enough not to see how fragile it really was. “We still have right now. Right this moment and maybe the next one and the next. As many as we can have before the end.”

A wave of disapproval radiating off of Shiro, challenged only by the aggressive optimism that followed. Always so determined. Keith knew in his heart that eternity wouldn’t be long enough to love him. 

“Fine,” Shiro rasped, almost begrudgingly as he pressed a kiss to the base of Keith’s ear. “Balmera Prime is still a ways off. Get some rest.”

“I’ve been asleep this whole time.” Keith wanted to joke, but Shiro just wiggled closer, slipping his leg between Keith’s knees.

“Yeah, but you haven’t been  _resting_.”

Shiro huffed, and all the fight, if there had been any at all, went out of Keith. He didn’t know how long he’d kept Shiro waiting on him, was almost afraid to ask, but if this all went to Hell, he knew he would be thinking about this moment at the very end. Or another just like it. He reached up, carefully brushing his lips against his partner’s, and Shiro’s ears flattened against his skull, a shy sort of pleasure. It was short lived. “I have to tell you everything, everything I know about the Resistance, in case…”

Shiro shushed him immediately, bulldozing through his complaints in tone that was just a little too loud. “You’ll tell me everything so I can help you. Nothing more.”

Keith took his comfort where he could find it, and the second time Shiro urged him to rest, he gave in without a fight. He’d wasted so many opportunities when his best friend was on borrowed time, Keith refused to make the same mistake again. He let Shiro fuss over him and comfort him. He stayed by his side for the remainder of their trip, and when they reached the jurisdiction of Balmera Prime, Keith was leaning over Shiro in the pilot’s chair.

“Okay, just like we practiced. The satellites should be coming up any minute now.” Keith warned.

“You really cannot help yourself with the backseat driving, huh?”

“I learned from the best.” He snarked, but earned an amused ear flick as Shiro handled the Freedom like he was born to fly. They crossed into Balmeran space, and Keith held his breath. Except there wasn’t a guard satellite in sight. For a second, he wondered if they were lost.

They continued flying, neither willing to acknowledge the confusion that came with such an easy trip. It was only when the Balmera came into view did Shiro’s control panel light up with an incoming message. 

Shiro stood to face the view screen, smoothing down the uniform he’d opted to wear and squaring his shoulders. The Balmerans were the center of the Galactic Coalition, they were the standard for language and for governance. They were the first to make contact with Koryusai.

Shiro had been waiting his entire life for this.

The view screen flickered and a giant, craggy face pressed against it in an uncomfortable close up. Shiro blinked and cleared his throat, speaking in perfect formal Balmeran. “Greetings, I am Officer Takashi Shirogane of the planet Koryusai. I’m here to-“

“Yes, what are you doing here?” The Balmeran snapped.

“I, uh…” Shiro seemed rattled for a moment before regaining his composure. “We’ve traveled all this way to meet with-”

“Did you make an appointment?”

“Did I  _what_?”

“Did you make an appointment? No one makes appointments these days, it’s rude not to call ahead.” The Balmeran said with a sniff. “I’m afraid the Balmera is too busy at the moment for unregistered guests.”

“ _The whole planet is busy?!_ ”

Keith choked.

Shiro was pink in the face, fingers twitching like he wanted to throw something, but his voice stayed even. “This is urgent, we have sensitive information that needs to reach the Lady of the Fourth Division or-”

“I’m sure it is.” The officer replied in a tone that clearly said he did not. “All Balmeran representatives will be available to entertain walk-ins at a later date. You can check back in two to three business years. Th-”

“Years!?”

“ _Thank you_  for visiting Balmera Prime, may we shine.” The Balmeran moved to push something off-screen, but Keith barreled to the front of the communicator, a snarl caught in his throat. It was enough to make the Balmeran look up.

“Listen you over-bearing brick, this sensitive material directly affects all the Core Worlds and the whereabouts of the Paladin, so if you don’t let us through, we’re going to ram the Balmera and make sure everyone knows who sent us.” Keith squinted at the guard, reading his name tag. “Glex.”

It was hard to say if indignation or awe was the culprit, but Glex was  stunned speechless. A distinctly ugly expression crossed his face, and Shiro hissed under his breath, preparing for the worst. Then someone’s hand rested on Glex’s shoulder.

“I think we can make time for First Contact with a brand-new people.” An old Balmeran woman pushed into view, her heavy gold earrings chiming. “The Coalition should welcome all new sentient explorers, it’s written into our law.” She said cheerfully as Glex sputtered about protocol. “Besides, I think that the Lady of the Fourth Division would be interested in seeing what information a new species could possibly bring about a war far from their homeworld.”

“But ma’am!” Glex wailed. “They don’t have a reservation and with the Coalition gathering this week, it’s not safe to just invite them in. Especially when they’re talking about the war, there’s rules about-“

“Pish, Glex. Transmit the coordinates to their ship, I will alert her Ladyship.” The woman said with a wink at the view screen. “The Coalition gathering is the perfect time to introduce a new sentient species. We will be honored to welcome you, Ambassador from Koryusai.”

With that, the screen went blank just as Glex squawked unhappily. Shiro and Keith looked at each other in confusion before numbers flashed across the control panel. “Well, these do look like landing coordinates, are you sure the Balmerans are part of the Resistance?”

“No, I’m sure they’re  _not_.” Keith said grimly. “But there might be one of them who is. At least, I hope she is.” If Shay hadn’t yet connected with the Resistance by this time, all of Keith’s plans to find the Paladin would fall apart. “Just keep your ears crossed or whatever your people do.”

Shiro rolled his eyes and began their descent, muttering under his breath, “How’d you even cross your ears?”

Keith laughed. Hope came easy.

Shiro guided the Freedom with an expert hand, but the more they saw of the planet, the louder the Koryu’s excitement became. He didn’t speak a word, but their connection thrummed with badly muffled anticipation, and Keith remembered the first time he’d seen Balmera Prime. As  _Keith_ \- no Galra fleet had ever been able to set foot in the capitol of the Galactic Coalition. He’d been terrified back then, frantic at the loss of Shiro, and too volatile to listen to Pidge. This was a second chance he didn’t know he’d wanted, no matter how brief.

The landing pad was outlined with brightly polished crystal, and a procession of sharply dressed Balmerans were waiting for them. For the umpteenth time, Shiro fussed with his uniform, suddenly painfully aware of his ears. He kept checking his reflection on the viewscreen, flicking his bangs to the side hastily. When he caught Keith staring, he looked away with a huff.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Shiro narrowed his eyes suspiciously before opening the Freedom’s hatch and stepping outside. The ground felt solid beneath his feet, not at all what Shiro had expected. He hadn’t been sure exactly what it would be like to stand on a living creature the size of an entire planet. But something hummed beneath his feet, some energy. If it spoke, it wasn’t in a language he could understand. He saluted the gathered Balmerans, falling back on official protocol.

“Greetings on behalf of the people of Koryusai, thank you for welcoming us.” He said as a woman stepped forward, soft yellow silk dress fluttering behind her as she walked.

“It is our honor to welcome you.” She said with a smile and Keith felt his heart lodge in his chest.

“Shay!” He said, almost choking on his hope. Oh Light, she was here. They made the right choice, this was actually going to work. He held hope in his hands for just a moment before he saw the look of his confusion of her face.

It lasted for only a moment, fading away behind a friendly smile. It was almost enough to make Keith question he’d noticed anything at all. “Yes, of course. We are thrilled to extend alliances to new allies and friends. We are all one in the Light.” She inclined her head, and Shiro found himself mimicking the gesture just to be sure. “As the Lady of the Fourth Division, I am happy to be your guide. Let us continue our conversation inside. Rest assured that your ship will be tended.”

Despite all the years that had passed, Balmera Prime was just as well-kept as the one Keith knew. There was a strange sort of comfort that came with that. Their guide entertained them with stories of their history and culture, and Shiro hung on her every word. It grated on Keith’s nerves, but with the Lady’s entourage following just a step behind, he could understand keeping up appearances. Despite her untroubled demeanor, she still wasted no time leading them to her office.

She invited them to sit in the large stone chairs in front of her desk, calling for freshly steamed grub worms before closing the door behind them. Keith barely gave her time to close the door before rounding on her. “Shay, I know this is going to sound strange, but we need to get in touch with Mission Control or the Blade. It’s an emergency, and we don’t have much time.”

“Then you will have to make some.” The Balmeran replied, her voice suddenly as cold as ice. Keith meant to take a step back, but he found his feet trapped in place, large white crystals glowing beneath the soles of his feet. A burst of alarm touched the corner of his mind, and he knew before he looked that Shiro was stuck fast as well. “Because I have questions. Starting with what does my daughter have to do with any of this, and how you got your hands on  _highly classified_  information?”

“Daughter?” Oh Light, no. For one horrible moment, Keith could see the future falling apart. Everything hinged on finding the Paladin in time, making sure Project Zero would never be built, finding a way to deactivating the super-weapon he carried next to his heart, saving all of Shiro’s people… If they couldn’t find the Paladin before the Prince did, all would be lost and without Shay’s connections to the Resistance, they were flying blind. “We need to get in touch with the Resistance, we can’t fail!”

Some truth must have shown on his face as the Lady watched him thoughtfully before she pulled out a small device and held it in her giant, rocky hands. “Then you must know the Balmerans are neutral in this war, we refuse to get involved in the fight.” A quick scan told her all she needed to know about the pair. “And I doubt you’re Resistance, or you’d have your own methods of contact. Who else would know who the Blades were?”

“I…” Keith struggled with a response, catching Shiro’s eye in his periphery, and his stomach plummeted. “We are allies of a sort?”

“You are Galra.”

It sounded more like an accusation than a question. 

“Please. We’re Koryu enough to matter.” Shiro interrupted, drawing the conversation back to him. “My whole planet is a target. They are going to wipe us out, billions of people gone. They might not be  _your_  people, but do they have to be to feel compassion? This wasn’t our fight either, we didn’t even know about this war, but that didn’t stop them. We need help, your Ladyship, and if we don’t do this together, then there won’t be anyone left.”

She narrowed her eyes, looking between the two of them, and slowly the shackles around their feet loosened. “Lucky for you, I might be the only one on the entire Balmera who’d agree with you. I may have contacts that can help you, but it’ll take some time. They’re not the most trusting of new faces.”

“Then, you believe us?” Keith blinked in surprise, not really sure what to make of her sudden change. “Even after knowing I’m Galra?”

“I’ve met the Blades, I’ve seen them fight before. They have saved countless lives with their sacrifices, and they still keep their presence well-hidden. The Galra can be good or evil, just like anyone else.” She said and Keith squirmed. “Until I can reach out to my contacts, you’re our guests. I have responsibilities to all of the Coalition Delegates who’ve traveled to the Balmera for our meeting, this may be the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself and your people to the entire Galactic community.” Her voice gentled. “And if your people are in danger, perhaps you might even make a few alliances that could help.”

“Thank you, your Ladyship.” Shiro was every inch the statesman and offered her a bow. Keith, not so much. He crossed his arms with a frown.

“Lady Kal, please. But that doesn’t explain why you know my daughter?”

“Our information must have gotten garbled. We were working on rumors, but it was our only lead. We’d heard we might get help on Balmera Prime even if we didn’t know the name.” Shiro said as Keith struggled to find an answer that wouldn’t make him sound crazy. Lady Kal nodded, but she didn’t seem entirely convinced. 

Finally, Keith blurted out, “What made you trust us?”

“The Balmera did.” The Lady said simply. “And I trust its judgement. We will see what comes of that judgement. Now let me ring for your escort, we’ll talk again after the festivities.” She pressed a button to sound a crystalline charm and a guard appeared by the door. Keith eyed him suspiciously, but what choice did they have? They had no alternative but to hope Shay’s mother would keep her word.

They were shepherded into another luxurious room that Keith couldn’t help but see as a gilded cage. He scowled darkly at a bed of silk made for those far taller and bulkier than any human could be – until someone smacked him between the shoulder blades and sent him tumbling into them. Keith landed with an indignant yowl, but Shiro was unapologetic, beaming at him from ear to ear, not a hint of disapproval in sight.

“Is it that bad?” Shiro asked. “What were you expecting?”

If he’d been in any other form, Keith would’ve taken it as a challenge, but he could feel Shiro’s earnestness as sincere. Begrudgingly, Keith was forced to reexamine their situation. Even if Shay had been there, she probably wouldn’t have reacted any differently from her mother.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Frustrated hope battled entitlement and fear inside him, twisting his words, but when Shiro reached out, Keith could explain it all away. Shiro touched him, and he realized that Shiro wasn’t doing much better. He could just pretend to be distracted by a nice bed.

_And a fancy lamp?_

_Mhmm. It spins?_

Keith reached up and kissed the bone of Shiro’s wrist, right over the fringes of a dark tattoo. It was an almost an apology, but Koryu never apologized for how they felt. That seemed to extend to the Koryu-shaped, too. “I just need to walk it off a little.”

Shiro didn’t invite himself along, and he didn’t offer placations Keith didn’t want to hear. It was nice.

To his surprise, there were no guards at their door, no one to stop him at all. Keith walked until he bumped into a nicely dressed Betrid, who was terrible at directions and looking for an ice machine. He took that as his cue to go back.

He never noticed he was being watched.

 

* * *

 

Shiro was nervous and clearly didn’t want to admit it. Keith thought he was the one with issues, but watching Shiro straighten and restraighten the collar of his already impeccable uniform was physically painful. Nothing on Shiro’s face gave him away, but there was a low prickle that coursed through their bond, almost too faint to notice, like the whirr of a computer in an otherwise quiet room. His ears were fluffed up, and Shiro only seemed to pat down his left.

“You okay?” Keith asked.

“Fine,” Shiro answered out loud, and screamed into Keith’s mind. But only once.  Then he went pink. 

It struck Keith then, the magnitude of this evening. Despite how far they’d come, despite everything they’d seen, this was the first time that anything resembling an objective to the Freedom’s original mission had come, and his heart clenched. The ship’s original crew had spent the last few years of their lives planning for a moment just like this one. It wasn’t fair that the war had taken it away. Keith had no illusions about his role in all of it.

Shiro looked up, a frown crossing his features, but Keith brushed away his concern. Instead, he clapped him on his shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. “You’re going to be great.”

Shiro gave him a tense smile. “Even if we can’t find the Resistance, maybe I really can make an alliance here. It might be enough to save Koryusai if we don’t have another choice.”

“It’s worth a try.” Keith said, though he didn’t believe his own reassurances. The Galactic Coalition was scared, they always had been. They thought if they ignored the problem, the Galra Empire would eventually be satisfied with the number of worlds they took. Sure, they supported the Resistance with lip service and maybe some covert funds, but nothing out in the open where they could make themselves a target. They hoped they’d be spared if they refused to fight. Cowards.

He pushed down his cynicism, burying it somewhere Shiro wouldn’t immediately notice as they left their room. The Galactic Coalition may have been cowards, but at least they knew how to throw a party. 

An enormous cavern hung with glittering crystals created by the Balmera itself. Representatives from every world Keith could recognize milled together, nibbling from plates of what he only assumed must be their native delicacies and drinking from crystalline cups. They were all dressed in their traditional attire, ambassadors in gauzy bright robes and some in full armor lined with fur and rock. A few appeared to be nude, though he didn’t want to look too closely. Shiro fit right in with his uniform, mobbed immediately by curious diplomats welcoming another unknown species to their coalition. Keith almost convinced himself that this was going to be fine. 

He lasted all of five minutes.

Shiro was so busy, he didn’t even notice when Keith slipped away for a moment of peace. That many people unnerved him, especially when they all wanted to touch his ears. A flare of heat twisted in his chest, and Keith braced himself for another episode. It never came. Project Zero returned to its hibernation, but Keith couldn’t feel less like socializing if he tried.

He retreated away from the party into the quieter tunnels. All he needed was a moment to regroup and he could return to rescue Shiro from their attention. Keith never expected he’d be held hostage.

“Halt, spy!” A tiny voice cried out, and a beam of light blinded Keith, pinning him in place.

“Did you have to say that so loud?” Another fearful voice complained. “We’re supposed to be sneaky, now he  _knows_.”

“Now kick him!”

Just beyond the incredibly obnoxious flash light, Keith could see the faint outline of a short figure in a bright yellow bandana.

“But I don’t want to kick him.”

“Even if he’s a spy? This is why I need legs too!” 

“Okay, stop that.” Keith snapped and reached out blindly. Someone eeped, and the flashlight fell to the ground with a clang, not that it made a difference. Keith still looked like a deer in headlights.

Standing before him, just over four feet tall, in a fancy little tuxedo with its clip-on tie shoved in his front pocket was a shocked little human with the kindest brown eyes Keith had ever seen. Suddenly, a slice of piping hot toast soared through the air. If Keith hadn’t ducked just then, he’d have gotten smacked in the face.

“Back, spy!”

Oh Light. Lance?!

“I-I’m not a spy?” Keith stuttered, his heart swooping so painfully, he thought he was going to be sick. His ribs were constricting, strangling the air out of him, and all the blood drained from his face. He’d never even gotten to say goodbye.

And now they were standing in front of him, alive and whole and… seven? Hunk stared up at him with a gap-tooth grimace, missing one of his bottom front teeth. He clutched a small box to his chest, something that looked almost like a tablet with a scowling pixelated face on its screen. And slots for toast, of course. Hunk looked terrified, glancing about for the best way to escape.

“Wait! How are you here?!” Keith couldn’t help but ask.

“M-my mom’s the cook with the human ambassador. I’m really sorry, mister. We-, I didn’t mean to. I lost Shay and-”

“There’s spies!” The robotic voice yelled as Hunk shook his computer screen fiercely.

“Shut up!”

Keith felt like his head was going to explode. Hunk was here, alive and safe, worlds away from his last stand as a hero who had saved them all. And Lance was… a literal toaster. Even so young, Hunk’s genius shone so bright. Keith wasn’t sure if the computer had truly achieved AI or was just well on its way, but it was clear that this early prototype would someday become the android who’d stayed behind with his best friend rather than spend a minute without Hunk. How had they gotten to Balmera Prime? Why hadn’t Keith asked when he had the chance?

“You don’t have to be afraid, I’m not going to tell anyone you’re here. I’m not a spy, I’m a new delegate, see?” Keith twitched his Koryu ears at Hunk who couldn’t resist anything that resembled an Earth cat. “You were playing spies?”

The computer beeped and Keith swore it sounded irritable, but Hunk shook his head shyly. “I picked up a weird broadcast, it’s not supposed to be there. It sounds…” He lowered his voice and looked around before whispering, “Galra.”

“You picked up a Galra broadcast.” Keith repeated, his tone pointedly blank. Being around the Koryu had at least taught him that much. Hunk nodded, and his toaster  _brr’d_  fiercely. It made something in Keith’s chest ache, but he smiled to hide the way heat gathered behind his eyes. Picking up the fallen flashlight, he offered it back to the young adventurer.

“Then I guess we’ll have to find them.”

There had been no Galra activity on the Core Worlds so far in the past. They were in the safest place possible. Right now, Keith just wanted to honor the friends he left behind. They deserved as much happiness as the galaxy could offer.

 

* * *

 

Shiro was overwhelmed. He’d been pulled in fifteen different directions since they’d arrived, the star of the hour for as long as his novelty shone bright. He met sinewy Antalians who looked down their noses at him with disinterest, stoic Betrids with booming laughs, kind-hearted Balmerans who were eager to share their own unspoken language, and a dozen different ambassadors in between. Shiro had always trusted his confidence in social settings, but this was more challenging than anything he’d ever managed. For the first time in months, he had to catch himself from slipping into Koryu when the conversations flew too quickly, and he wasn’t sure if the teasing that followed was meant to comfort or mock.

But they were amazing.

They wanted to know about his home and his people, about the ink that twisted across his skin and the lilting words of his mother tongue. Part of him felt like he was putting on a show, but the rest of him was proud of the chance to explain to people who were willing to listen. It was the spirit of the Galactic Coalition at its kindest, and despite how exhausted he was, Shiro walked away with a smile.

He just had to find Keith. He was around here somewhere. Keith had never really liked crowds. Shiro figured if he stood by the refreshment table long enough, he’d be able to catch a glimpse of his mate, but as he backed away, looking for a quiet corner to regroup, he bumped into a tall, hulking figure and nearly dropped his drink.

“Oh sorry! I didn’t get you, did I?”

“Yup.”

“I’m very sorry. I guess it’s obvious I haven’t really been to one of these before.”

“Yup.” The being said stoically and Shiro’s ears dropped a little in disappointment. They’d all been drilled in Balmeran protocol before the mission, but they were supposed to have a trained diplomat with them to initiate First Contact. Not to mention the Captain, the engineer, a doctor. Shiro felt a pang of loneliness as he thought of his brother and the rest of the crew, hoping that they’d forgive him for leaving them all behind. It would be worth it if he could save them, and that meant not blowing it at his first diplomatic function.

“Ah, I’m Officer Takashi Shirogane, Pilot First Class of the Koryusai delegation. We’ve traveled a long way to meet you and establish communication with the other sentient species of the galaxy.” He said with a flourish. “It’s been an honor.”

“Yup.” The being sad boredly, looking around for something to eat. This wasn’t going well at all.

“Not really much good having a conversation with a Yupper.” A voice cut in behind him and Shiro found himself looking into the well-muscled chest of a tall Antalian. The man was beautiful and knew it, something Shiro had quickly picked up about the Antalians. His horns were burnished to a bright gleam and studded with small gems so it looked like the tips caught fire whenever they reflected the light. He’d broken off from the rest of his party to join them and gave the Yupper a friendly scratch under the chin. “Looks like someone left their pet all alone.”

Shiro couldn’t quite shake the feeling that the Antalian wasn’t talking about the Yupper.

Shiro cleared his throat, determined to shake this off and move beyond it. “Officer Takashi Shirogane, Pilot First-”

“Class of the Koryusai delegation, yes.” The Antalian smiled with too much teeth, his handsome face shifting into something distinctly predatory, and Shiro fought back a blush. “Tell me, Takashi Shirogane. Do the Koryu normally send such small delegations on diplomacy endeavors?”

“Officer Shirogane will be fine.” Shiro tried his best to keep from bristling. He wasn’t entirely sure if he succeeded. “I’m sorry, Mister…?”

“Commander Sendak.” The Antalian’s eyes brightened with a wicked sort of delight. “Of the Antalian Legion.”

Shiro froze. That changed everything. He found himself standing a little straighter, meeting the stranger without fear. “Commander Sendak, then. I’m afraid I’m here under special circumstances. This mission was arranged in haste, while my people brace for war.”

“War you say? Who would be interested in a, let’s say newly established species?” Sendak said, his expression comically sorrowful. Shiro would have given a lot to knock that look off his smug face.

“The Galra.”

It worked.

Sendak’s eyes widened, vigilance sharpening his features anew. Shiro counted it as a win. “That is quite serious. Walk with me Officer Shirogane, tell me more about this war effort.”

 

* * *

 

Riding on a cat man’s shoulders was so much fun that Hunk almost forgot they were hunting for spies. He couldn’t help himself from gently tugging on the fuzzy ears to see if they were real and laughing when Keith twitched them out of his hands. Keith let the boy play, careful and patient with the little human. Hunk had been his family once, he would make sure the little boy got back to his real one.

In another life, he’d helped runaway kids survive on the WSP, giving what he could even if he couldn’t save them all. None of them would be alive yet and none of them would have lost everything. Not yet.

“One quick look before we go back to the party and find your mom, okay?” Keith lifted Hunk from his shoulders and set the little human on his feet. “And we’ll tell her that we double checked to make sure there’re no spies.”

Hunk nodded resolutely and poked at his little computer who made another unhappy beep. Keith had to hide his smile. If that little machine was going to one day become Lance, it had a long way to go. Maybe this time, he could drop some subtle inspiration for Hunk to program a personality that was a little  _less_ annoying.

“I picked it up right here.” Hunk said, holding his computer up to an access panel and typing out a command that even Keith had trouble following. The screen lit with a steady purple pulse, a pixel frowny face in the corner to show Lance’s disapproval. “It’s not supposed to be here right?” He looked up at Keith for reassurance, but Keith had frozen in dread.

That was a Galra signal and not just any network code. The Prince was somewhere on the Balmera. 

“We have to find your mom.”

“What?”

Hunk startled, his eyes wide with fear, and Keith couldn’t leave him alone now. He scooped the little boy into his arms, helping him back across his shoulders and struggling through his panic to find a plan. This couldn’t be happening. He would know if a Galra operation was meant to hit a Core World. Keith couldn’t feasibly know every active mission in the Empire, but attacking Balmera Prime would have been a massive endeavor. He had to tell the Lady Kal. The Balmerans needed to prepare for battle. He’d leave Hunk with her where it was safe. Keith was already running.

Hunk’s tiny arms tightened around his neck. Keith couldn’t let him get hurt again.

The halls were nearly empty, most people drawn to the party. It was the perfect distraction, leaving the Prince to his own business, or the perfect set up. With so many high profile targets, it was a tragedy waiting to happen. Keith banged through the door of Lady Kal’s office, and immediately froze.

There was an unmoving Unilu on the floor. Lady Kal wasn’t alone.

 

* * *

 

“Right this way.” Sendak said, leading Shiro to a private room off of the main cavern. It was dimly lit and intimate, set with faint glowing crystals and pillowed chairs. The perfect place to escape for a few moments of solitude and relax. Shiro felt anything but relaxed.

A fission of tension hung in the air, and even if he couldn’t hear the Antalian’s emotions, something was off. Maybe it was his smile, a bit too hungry to be comfortable, or maybe it was the way Sendak’s hoof-tipped fingers lingered at the small of his back just a little too long. It set Shiro on edge, and he gave one last look around for Keith before stepping through the doorway.

“There, now we have a chance to talk.” The Commander said, gesturing for Shiro to make himself comfortable. “You said that your people are the target of a Galra attack? That must be so frightening, but it’s strange. You’re a new species, what would draw the Empire’s eye to you?”

Shiro shifted, watching the Antalian warily. “I’m not sure why, all I know is that we need help. Would your people be willing to help defend my home?”

“That depends. The Galra are typically drawn to a target because of some reason, some new technology or unique biological asset they can add to themselves. Why you?” Sendak leaned closer. “What is it that your people have that’s worth taking?”

“Our lives.” Shiro said, gritting his teeth so hard, he swore he could feel them crack. His jaw tilted at a defiant angle, refusing to give up the space Sendak greedily tried to claim. “I have no intention on bribing you for your assistance, Commander, and frankly, I’m surprised the Antalians would need it.”

“Lives are an easy commodity to find, especially for the Galra.” The Commander smiled. “Why would they waste their resources on an unknown world unless there was something worth taking?”

“I’m not sure why you expect me to know what the Galra want.” Shiro said stiffly. “From what I’ve heard, the Empire is not something that can be reasoned with.”

“How would someone who’s never communicated with the Galactic Coalition even know about the war?” Sendak said thoughtfully and a jolt ran down Shiro’s nerves. “I’m interested in knowing where you got your information.”

Shiro stood, body tense. “It’s been nice to speak with you, but I’m afraid I must get back to my companion.” He said, but Sendak closed his hand around Shiro’s arm. Before he could yank the Koryu back down, Shiro whirled to break his grip and fell back into a defensive pose, drawing his blaster. The Antalian’s fingertips glowed with purple circuitry, his hooves sharpened into claws that pulsed with light. Even his eyes shone in the darkness with a bright yellow flare.

“Just hold still, when you’re one of us, you’ll tell me everything.”

Shiro never hesitated.

He lunged for the creature, barely avoiding its cruel claws to beat him back. Shiro’s mind was spinning with impossibilities. Not here. Not in the center of the Galactic Coalition. His heart hammered in his chest, the punch of adrenaline threatening to drive him mad, but he opened fire, praying the ruckus would be enough to draw an audience. Sendak blocked every hit with his right arm, absorbing each blast like it was nothing. It rippled and burned where it was hit, the flare of metal flashing before flesh folded over itself and mended. So Shiro turned, firing through the wall of the Balmera instead. It crackled and groaned, crumbling under a wave of dust, and Shiro had a millisecond to rejoice before Sendak bowled him over, pinning him down. 

The Galra kept his arm pinned, baring down until Shiro’s nerves pinced and grip faltered. In the back of Shiro’s neck, he felt the first pinpricks of pain, as metal sliced through skin.

“Just relax.” Sendak’s voice was hot against his skin as he crushed the air from Shiro’s lungs. “It’ll be over in a minute.” Infection. Death. Rewriting his mind and his body, replacing organic cells with metal. Shiro could see the image of himself from Keith’s memories, scribed in poison that ran deep into his bones. An aching pain, every part of him erased. He wouldn’t die like this again.

With a snarl, Shiro braced his feet against Sendak’s body and kicked out with all of his strength, sending the Commander flying off of him. He crashed back into the main ballroom as the device flew from his hand, skittering off into the crowd. Shiro rolled to his feet. When Sendak staggered upright, his rage had destroyed his disguise. Purple skin peeked through the Antalian form, body bulkier and furred. His arm gleamed metal instead of flesh as his features melted into cruel instead of haughty beauty.

Someone screamed. It only took one word for the party to turn into a frenzy. 

“GALRA!”

 

* * *

 

A masked assassin had a laser pointed at the Balmeran’s head. Keith knew exactly who he was, it was impossible,  _impossible_. Even dressed as a waiter and without his generals, there was no mistaking him for anything but royalty. A warrior to make any Galra proud. Keith felt sick to his stomach as they stared at each other, Keith’s face reflected back in the Prince’s shiny mask.

Hunk shrieked and Lance unleashed his own weapon at the Prince to protect them all. Two slices of burned toast smacked the Galra in the face, bouncing off his mask. The distraction was all she needed. Lady Kal dropped to the ground, throwing her table at the Prince and sent him flying into the wall.

“Hide!” Keith ordered, rushing Hunk away from the fight. “As soon as you can, you and Lady Kal run and don’t look back.”

The Prince rolled to his feet, graceful and lithe. If he’d been surprised by Keith’s interruption, it was hidden now. He was totally in control, deceptively relaxed though Keith knew he was coiled like a snake ready to strike.

“You can’t be here.” Keith’s voice was hoarse. “You’re not supposed to be here!” 

The Prince was the most deadly enemy in the Galra military. They’d skirted the edges of the Prince’s territory, racing him to the Paladin without drawing his attention. Keith had been so sure, but if the Prince was here on Balmera Prime… time was unraveling. His past wasn’t true anymore, they’d changed too many things. He was blind to where there enemies lay, which meant he didn’t know what choice was safe anymore.

“Who are you?” The Prince said, voice haughty enough to send shivers down Keith’s spine. Keith just curled his lips over his fangs and lunged, throwing himself between his enemy at the two innocents. If he’d miscalculated so badly, at least he could make sure that they survived.

The Prince held nothing back. Keith struggled to keep ahead, always just a millisecond away from destruction. His enemy fought with sword and blaster, wielding both in either hand. Suddenly a shadow darkened around Keith’s shoulders, and nothing but dumb luck saved him as he threw himself backwards. A light fixture crashed down around them. In the door way, his tiny face pinched with focus with a wire in each hand was Hunk, and the Balmeran guards weren’t far behind. The little boy gave Keith an almost apologetic grin before running to hide.

The Prince wasn’t so lucky. He was pinned under the weight of the chandelier that Hunk had brought down. As the soldiers moved to surround him, he reached into his belt, pulling out a smooth black sphere.

“Grenade!” Keith yelled. He dove for Hunk, shielding him with his body as the little boy clung desperately to his mechanical friend. The explosion still sent them flying through the Lady’s study. On the other side, the Prince taunted them triumphantly. His wrist display blinked violet with an incoming message and Keith saw the Prince scowl.

“Looks like we will have to continue some other time.” The Prince drawled arrogantly. “While I’d like to break you open and peel back your layers to find out who you are, you have a choice. You can chase me, or save them. You can’t do both.”

He disappeared into the opening while the Balmerans struggled to regroup, but Keith felt a chill down his spine. There must have been another plan in motion.

_“Shiro.”_

 

* * *

 

Sendak cursed under his breath, his mission a failure and all of his infiltration worthless. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Shiro smashed his fist into the Galra’s face. Blood and metal broke under bone, and his world spun dangerously.

“Shiro!!” Keith skidded to a stop at the top of the balcony overlooking the great cavern, watching the Koryu take on the now hulking Elite alone. “It’s a trap!”

Sendak stood frozen in the center of the room, staring at Keith agog. Frantically, he typed a command into his wrist display, nothing but desperation spurring him on. He never should have taken his eyes off Shiro. The Koryu lunged at him. In front of the entire hall, he ripped out Sendak’s throat in a spray of gore. The Galra was dead before he hit the ground.

Somewhere in the distance, someone screamed. Balmeran guards rushed in from every corner of the room, seizing control of the situation that Shiro was only too happy to give up.

“He tried to infect me,” the Koryu said. He wasn’t sure if anyone was listening. His hands were shaking and warm, and he didn’t want to think about why. “He wasn’t a real Antalian.”

It felt… silly to say out loud. Felt wrong. Then there were strong arms around his waist, drawing him near. Keith was there, and Shiro held on to him with all the force he could muster. Shiro didn’t know it yet, but he’d guaranteed that the Koryu would never be forgotten.

Balmeran guards hustled them away, trying to restore order. They went without protest. Keith barely waited until they were back in their quarters to frantically check Shiro, searching for signs of wounds and infection before breathing out a shaky sigh of relief. “You’re okay.”

“I’m okay.” Shiro echoed, wrapping himself around Keith to draw out some of the lingering fear. “He didn’t hurt me.”

“He could have. He could have infected you, he could have killed everyone here.” Keith pulled away, refusing the comfort. His head spun, terror crowding into his throat as panic stripped away his self-control. “There were Elites in the middle of Balmera Prime, hiding among the delegates and ready to attack,  _and I didn’t know!_ ”

“No one knew, you saw how Sendak shifted his form. It’s not your fault.”

Keith flattened his years against his skull, hackles raised. “I’m  _supposed_ to know. None of this happened before, they weren’t supposed to be here. There wasn’t a plot against Balmera Prime this early, the Prince was never supposed to be here.”

“Wait, wait…the Prince?” Shiro grabbed Keith by the shoulders, trying to calm him. “Take a breath and explain.”

Keith tried, body shuddering with the effort. It would be too easy to collapse back into Shiro’s arms and try to hide from the world as it fell apart. “Everything I thought I knew about the past is changing, Shiro. Now I don’t know where our enemies are going to be, I don’t know when they’re going to attack your home or try to build Project Zero. It’s all changing, I’m flying blind!”

“Isn’t changing the future what we were trying to do in the first place?” Shiro said gently, making so much sense that Keith desperately wanted to believe him. “You came back to stop what happened last time, of course what we did changed the future. That’s a good thing, it means what we’re doing is working.”

“And if it’s worse? What if I hurt people like Chet? Or now when the entire Galactic Coalition could have been assassinated by an Elite and the Prince was right under our nose. What if all the changes make the ending even worse than it was before, I can’t-” Keith’s voice caught over a sob. “I can’t lose you again.”  
  
Shiro’s ears flattened against his skull, but Keith felt no vindication. Not when everything was spiraling out of control. Then Shiro ran his fingers through Keith’s hair, so gentle it took Keith’s breath away. “So we keep fighting. I don’t want to lose you either.”   
  
Keith squeezed his eyes shut, everything he could never say hanging over him. Shiro let him hold on for as long as he needed. Then Keith pulled him deeper into their quarters, determined to wash away as much of the evening as he could.   
  
They stole a moment’s peace together, but had time for little else. All too soon there was a knock at their door, and they opened it to find Lady Kal escorted by a pair of armed guards. She left them at the door.    
  
“That was an impressive display, Officer Shirogane. We’ve found active biological agents rigged around the Grand Cavern, ready to go off when activated. Balmera Prime will forever be in debt to Koryusai, as is Melemauna.”   
  
It wasn’t possible for Shiro to stand any straighter but the urge to try tempted him. “Thank you, ma'am.”  
  
“Have you caught the Prince?” Keith asked, a mad sort of hope welling in his chest. “If he’s here then one of his generals might be as well.”  
  
She shook her head. “We do not have him, but he will be hunted to the ends of the Balmera and beyond. He will know no peace. And neither will the Galra.” Something like a smile tried to cut through her grim expression. “I hate to say that these events may have made my job easier, but it’s harder to ignore an enemy at your door. Maybe this time our leaders will listen.”  
  
“But what did they want?” Shiro asked.   
  
“Chaos undoubtedly.” She said. “And perhaps, the Paladin.”

“You knew!” Keith couldn’t control his burst of rage. “You knew where the Paladin was the whole time and you didn’t tell us, that’s what the Prince was after!”

The Lady just looked serene as Shiro put a hand to his shoulder to calm him down. “And you think that I would share our greatest secret to an unknown being and a Galra Elite? My people might not have joined the fight yet, but with the Paladin to inspire us, we are one step closer. I wouldn’t risk everything we’ve been building because you showed up with a good story. Besides, no one truly knows the Paladin’s location on any given day. Under most circumstances. I received a very specific call for assistance. The Prince tried to intercept it.”

Keith fumed, but he couldn’t fault her caution. There was more riding on this than bruised feelings. “The Prince can find the Paladin?”

“It’s possible.” Lady Kal’s face was drawn with worry. 

“But if they know where the Paladin is, then you need to tell us too. We have to get there in time to stop them.” Shiro said urgently and after the briefest hesitation, the Lady nodded.

“There is a research station not far from here. They serve as the intermediary between us and the Resistance. We believe a Galra communication hub went down a star system over and the station may be targeted and will require assistance evacuating. If the Prince has anything, he’ll be headed there. You must stop him and his generals.”

“We promise.” Keith said, hands clenched at his side. “Lotor won’t hurt anyone ever again.”

 

* * *

 

They needed to leave immediately. Keith would have liked to show Shiro more of Balmera Prime, Melemauna and the rest of the Core Worlds, but there was never enough time. He told himself that they would get their chance, after the war, when they had all the time in the galaxy. He wasn’t sure he believed it, but when Shiro brushed up against him, comfort given freely, Keith knew he couldn’t regret it.

The Freedom prepared to depart while most other ships were held back as a matter of security. It was nice having a political ally in their corner. One less thing to worry about, but as they rushed through the terminal, something stopped Keith in his tracks. Those same bright brown eyes.

Hunk was tucked against his mother’s side, one hand buried in her coat, the other tight around his mechanical friend. The chef was deep in conversation with a fair-haired Betrid. Hunk let her go when he saw Keith, giving him one, uncertain wave.

“Hey, I just have to…” Keith didn’t have an excuse, but Shiro didn’t need one.

Mrs. Garrett looks startled when Keith approached. She still moved to thank Keith, greeting him with a warm smile. Keith saw where Hunk got it. “I never got to thank you, Officer-”

“Officer Shirogane.” Keith said, without hesitation. “But you can call me Keith. I ought to be thanking Hunk here. He saved my life.” He cracked a smile, tight and wan and more than a little sad. “He’s a good spy hunter. Can I say goodbye?”

He looked down at Hunk who’d gone beet red, even as he puffed up his chest, clearly pleased.

“You’re leaving?” Hunk blurted out, his expression crumbling. Over his head, his mother nodded, so Keith moved to crouch in front of him. Hunk reached up, and Keith obliged him, letting him tug at the tips of his fluffy ears, even if it made him scrunch up his face.

“Yeah, we have to take care of something, but it won’t take long. It was nice meeting you, Hunk. I know that things can be scary sometimes and you might feel like running away, but you’re braver than you know. I never had a chance to tell you before, but you’re a real hero. Don’t ever forget that.” Then he dropped his voice, turning to the little bot in Hunk’s hand and murmured, “I’ve got my eye on you.”

Hunk inhaled sharply, but the robot remained silent. Keith knew Lance well enough to know it was a defiant silence. He thanked Mrs. Garrett one last time. Hunk watched him as he walked away, and this time Keith hoped he’d grow up believing in himself.

 

* * *

 

 

_–Begin Recording?—_

_> >Yes_

Keith leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. His expression pinched with focus, but for once, it wasn’t unhappy. “I just never realized humans were so small.”

He tried to smooth back his ears, but only seemed to puff them up further, never quite focused. “Hunk’s always been smart. One of these days, I’m going to learn to stop underestimating him. Him and Lance. Light, I just… Seeing them again.“ Keith stopped and scrubbed a hand over his face. He opened his mouth as if to say something and only to fold in on himself. Softer then, he whispered, "I hope they’re happy now. I hope they get the chance to be happy… I hope they never have to fight alongside the Resistance.”

He straightened his position, facing the camera directly. It would be his judge. When he spoke, he held no pride in his revelation. “In another time, the acquisition of the Antalian government was catalyzed after an attack on the Intergalactic Games Convention. Maybe the first time Hunk’s mother…maybe that’s why he was on the Balmera…” Keith’s voice trailed off and he cleared his throat, trying to banish the thought. “One of the survivors was Commander Sendak. It propelled his political career and made him something of a war hero to a people who never cared for anything of the sort.”

It took a minute before Keith was ready to speak again, this time, the anguish clear on his face. An admission he wasn’t sure he could make, the worst parts of him laid bare. “The Galra believe they’re the most enlightened beings in the galaxy. They’re life perfected, the best balance of organic and synthetic, the best stolen DNA from other species distilled into their purest form. But even among the Galra, there’s a hierarchy. Drones are better than organics, but they’re mindless soldiers and slaves. Elites are warriors and leaders, trained to remake the world in their image.”

“But royalty trumps all. Lotor was…is the worst of them. As vicious as the rest but someone who challenged tradition. A zealot who believed that he could bring about the end of the war all at once. He was more than a finely honed weapon, he was a force ready to bring the entire galaxy to his knees. Even though the Emperor disagreed with his tactics, he won allies and loyal commanders to his cause.”

Keith swallowed hard, looking shaken. “I stopped him once. I killed him when I betrayed the Empire and ran. I don’t know if I can do it again.”

_–End Recording—_

 


	27. Chapter 27

They were running out of time.

The flight was silent, neither Shiro nor Keith able to find the words to fill the weeks. The specter of the Prince hung between them, an enemy that had haunted their steps since they’d left Koryusai, but they’d never thought they’d face the heir to the Galra Empire. Shiro could see how the confrontation had rattled Keith, his whole world thrown sideways. Events were shifting, the timeline had changed. The months before the Galra’s capture of the Paladin no longer held true.

Somewhere, the Resistance fleet was gathering and the Prince’s forces were on their way. They just had to get there first.

The Freedom had been pushed to its limits. Keith hoped that it would be enough to get them to the Resistance outpost before the Prince arrived. They had to warn them somehow, save them if their location had been compromised. And get one step closer to the Paladin in the process.

Multiple back to back hyperjumps had taken them as fast as possible across the galaxy, but Keith still worried how they would handle a fight with a Galra cruiser.

Hope wasn’t enough. The ship burst from hyperspace, slamming back into reality as star lines shot back into glittering pinpricks. The tiny space station flickered as its power failed, debris trailing from holes torn through its hull. Nearby, a Galra ship had been torn from the docking bay, its entire engine in pieces as it drifted, lifeless.

Shiro inhaled sharply, but he was already moving. “Scanning for lifeforms… I’m getting nothing.”

Relief was sweet, but short-lived. Keith got a proper view of the space station. He cursed under his breath. Lodged in its hull was a metal cylinder. Keith was willing to bet that landing was intentional.

“See that down there? That’s a Galra escape pod. Expect hostiles.”

“Oh goodie.” Shiro grunted.

It didn’t get any better when they landed. They left the Freedom anchored just inside the damaged docking bay and crept outside in environmental suits. The only source of illumination were the emergency lights that lined the walls, bathing everything in a dull red. The artificial gravity surged unevenly through the structure, leaving areas they could float through interspersed by denser pockets where walking felt like pulling teeth. Only after they made it through a security door did the atmosphere stabilize.

Keith still didn’t risk removing his helmet.

Keith could feel his heart in his throat. Something about this place was wrong. Static from the downed Galra ship filled his head like static, blocking out everything until he couldn’t think. He switched off his mental receivers, leaving him with the sound of his own ragged breathing echoing back against the helmet.

“Do you think they managed to evacuate?” Shiro asked softly.

“I hope so.” Some of the escape pods were missing and there weren’t any other ships docked to the station. They could have escaped, taking the secrets of the Resistance fleet with them.

They found their first body in a long, twisted corridor scorched with blaster fire. The being looked Betrid, but its eyes still glowed yellow and metal spilled from its chest with blood and bone. A drone, the first of many. They picked their way through the carnage. Gold like precious stone lit the way. The dying glow of ruined drones.

It was so much like Zarkon’s throne room, the bodies twisted and broken where he’d left them after turning on his people. Again. He’d done it to save everyone, but it was hard to see the good when blood pooled by his feet and the air smelled like scorched metal and flesh. Their eyes watched him, hatred festering in the yellow as Zarkon poured his control into their empty husks and forced corpses to their feet. They followed him, shadows chasing his footsteps until he twisted faster.  _Faster._ Keith couldn’t breathe.

Project Zero beat in time with his frantic heartbeat, adding an edge of pain that spurred the blank, all-consuming terror in his own mind.

Shiro reached out for him, catching him before Keith could consider asking for help. It sent a cold current down his spine and across his ribs, bursting through his chest until Keith could force down a ragged breath. He was still shaking. Shiro’s hand stayed on the small of his back, separated by layers of protective clothing, but it was all Keith had in the moment. It wasn’t enough to banish the past, but the memories faded enough that he could meet his partner’s eye without flinching.

Fear still coursed through him, an uncontrolled panic as his past consumed his present. Shiro kept him standing with a strong arm around Keith’s waist, but the memories were enough to leave them both breathless. There was something wrong, Keith could almost grasp something dangerous he needed to understand, but it was too hard to think. Even when Shiro’s reassurance bled off the worst of his terror, it left him shaky and disoriented. How had he let himself be so weak? The past was dead and memory couldn’t harm him, but for a moment, it had all felt so real.

_Are you alright?_

It wasn’t possible to lie and he let Shiro feel his helpless confusion.

“I don’t see anyone but Galra. Whoever was fighting survived.” Shiro said out loud, like that could shake Keith out of his own mind, and Keith nodded, mouth too dry to speak. “I’m still not picking up any life signs, but there’s a lot of interference.”

Keith’s ear twitched inside of his helmet and he froze. “Wait, I hear something.”

It came from down the corridor, a clang of metal that he half-assumed was the damaged space station breathing its last. Shiro followed the sound down debris-filled corridors, trying not to be distracted by the stories left on scorch walls and torn metal. The darkness around them thickened where the emergency lights had been shot, shadows bleeding into shadows until he felt like he could drown in them.

The thrum of a laser blaster was almost welcome.

“Drop your weapons. Turn around slowly.”

Keith’s breath caught in, but his grip remained steady around his gun. He didn’t dare move. “We’re not here to hurt anyone. We were sent from Balmera Prime to help with the evacuations.”

“Those don’t look like any GC uniform I know.” Interjected another voice. A familiar voice. Keith gasped, spinning on his heel and came face to face with a charged blaster, but that didn’t matter. In the corner, her hands balled into fists and expression hardened with determination, was Pidge. It was like a slap in the face. Her hair was longer. It curled passed her shoulders, and her overalls bore the same logo Keith had seen smeared across every door of the station, but she could have stepped out of his memories. She still held a gun with the same ease. She stood with two other Quvari, a tall man and a dark-haired boy that Keith didn’t immediately recognize, until he saw the way he gripped her elbow.

Rover.

Alive and well, and Light none of this was fair.

“We’re not yet part of the Coalition. We’re Koryu. I’m Shiro and this is Keith.” Shiro said from behind him, his arms raised, but Keith knew him well enough not to know that didn’t guarantee surrender. He spoke directly to the woman aiming at Keith’s head, with more eloquence than Keith could muster in the moment. “We were there when the call for assistance came in. We thought we could help.”

“Or you’re infiltrator drones.” Pidge snapped.

The older Quvari woman put a hand to Pidge’s arm to stop her from firing. She stared intently at Shiro and Keith like she could read something in them, studying them so intensely that they squirmed. Whatever it was she found, it must have satisfied her, concern turning to a curiosity. “They’re not with the attackers.”

“How can you be so sure?” Pidge snarled, her weapon still clutched in her fist. “Just because they weren’t here in the first wave doesn’t mean they’re not Galra. We can’t take chances.” Light, listening to her made the world seem to bend around Keith as past crashed into present. He should have expected, Quvari lived for centuries. Ten years or so wouldn’t have meant anything to Pidge or Rover. They were still young and brash and just as ready to fight as they’d been when he’d first met them.

“Put the gun away, Pidge. If they’re here to help, we might as well use them. I’m Alana, one of the research crew on board this station. This is my colleague Fern.” She pointed at the man beside Pidge. “And the young ones are Pidge and Rover. We need to get off this station, you brought a ship with you?”

“Yes, we can help. Are there any other crew members alive?” Shiro looked back through the hallway littered with broken drones. “Or any Galra?”

Fern shook his head wildly. “The others got out, it’s just us. You have to get us out of here!”

“Not without the Paladin.” Pidge glared at the adults as Rover shrunk behind her. “The Paladin was visiting this outpost and is still somewhere on board. We’re not leaving without him.”

Shiro never spoke a word, but Keith could feel his emotions shift, as telling as a neon sign. He resisted the urge to move closer, his own mind clouded with questions.

Fern didn’t agree. “The Paladin has his own back up! We can make the Resistance go back for him, when we’re off this cursed station.”

“Fern!” Alana protested, but she didn’t look surprised. Her coworker just scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. “I understand the risks, but we can’t just leave the Paladin behind.”

Shiro and Keith shared a look, an undercurrent of tension curled between them. They might never get a chance like this, but the Prince was on his way. Keith didn’t hold out much hope that the Balmerans would be able to contain him. “Is there a way we can contact the Paladin somehow?”

“No.” Fern snapped, and Pidge automatically hushed him. She looked like she wanted to do more, but one glance at Alana seemed to calm her down.

“There might be,” Alana corrected. “Normally this wouldn’t be a problem. If our station was fully operational, we could just send him a message perhaps, but our power supply was damaged by the attacks. The last time we tried to send a distress signal, we were chased out by drones.”

“How long ago was that?” Shiro asked,

Alana’s mouth pinched in worry as she tried to count down the hours. “Before we lost power. They could have moved on, but there’s no way to know for sure.”

“If there’s a way to bring the internal comms back on line, it might be worth it.” Shiro offered, and Rover grabbed Pidge excitedly by the shoulders, shaking her.

“Pidge is a genius at tech. If we can get to engineering, then I’m sure she can fix it!” He said proudly.

Fern scowled, tightening his grip on his weapon. “Are you all stupid? The Paladin is a lost cause, and we will be too if we don’t get the hell out of here. There’s Galra still active somewhere on the station, and this is our only way out. If we don’t go now, we’re going to end up dead or worse. Like them!” He pointed at the broken drones, and Keith felt his stomach sink.

“Then we move quickly. We get one shot. If we can’t contact the Paladin now, then we’ll have to get word to the Resistance about a return trip. This is not up for debate,” Keith tacked on, just as Pidge opened her mouth to protest. It earned her a scowl. “The Paladin would not jeopardize the safety of others above theirs, if it could be helped.”

Alana’s eyes narrowed. She took a quick glance around her team, before fixing both Shiro and Keith with a loaded stare. Then nodded. “Okay everyone, follow me. And be on the lookout.”

“I’ll take up the rear. Make sure these guys don’t try anything else.” Pidge huffed under her breath. Rover reached out for her, expression downcast, and she slung an arm around his shoulders, squeezing just once before he pulled away to trail after Alana. Keith couldn’t even be insulted.

The two older Quvari picked their way carefully through the wreckage with weapons drawn, ready for more drones to burst from every dark corridor. Pidge and Rover kept back, watching the newcomers suspiciously. Rover clung to Pidge’s side who brushed him off in annoyance, murmuring sharp words against her frightened friend.

“Here.” Alana stopped outside of a set of metal doors, locked tight without the power needed to slide them open. She didn’t even hesitate, digging her fingers into the small gap between them and throwing her weight to the side as she pried them open. After a moment’s protest, the metal screamed moved beneath her hands.

Keith shuddered, his breath fogging up his helmet before life support could catch up. It was a maze of wires and shattered steel, Nothing cut through the dim, not even the damaged emergency slights. Nothing, except the odd flicker of sparks and the unseeing eyes of gutted drones. Alana shone a light across the ground, their mouths hung gaping around their last scream, as if the infection in their blood could allow for that much emotion. Broken glass littered the floor, the tale of a battle hard fought. Then there was the smell.

“We had to seal this off when they attacked.” Fern frowned. “They went straight for it.”

“Keep your eyes peeled.” Alana frowned. “Pidge?”

Pidge made a sour face and sighed like she was being asked to carry the world. “Move back, give me some room to work.” She muttered, pushing Rover back and shooing the rest of them away from the damaged control panel. Keith focused on the way she worked, trying to use that to distract himself from the knot in his chest.

She had always been a genius, that much was clear. She said she had been trying to pick up her parents’ legacy, finish their virus and bring about the end of the Galra war. Keith wondered if her family was still alive or if they’d already fallen. Was Pidge already burning for revenge? Maybe if he gave her the virus he’d carried from the future, she’d finally be able to finish it and have her peace.

“There, I think that I-” She started, but a view panel flickered to life and gave the startled watchers an up close and personal look into a very hairy nostril.

“Greetings!” The camera pulled out on a man with a bright orange mustache, who twirled the ends with a grin. “This recording is to any remaining Galra on the station. Come get me, you quiznacking bulrogs!”

The strange man flexed his arm, patting his bicep in a way that made Keith feel oddly uncomfortable, and Shiro just stared. “It is I, your worst nightmare, but you can call me, the Paladin. The Paladin. The  _Paladinthepaladinthepaladin_.”

The screen flickered, caught on a loop as static cut through the feed, the Paladin’s face blown up until he grinned down, mouth twisted like a clown’s painted leer. Pidge gasped, backing away from the console, but behind them, Rover screamed. It cut through the air like a knife, jolting through their party.

Before their eyes, he was dragged across the ground, the jagged claws of a drone curled around his ankles. Keith made to run. Suddenly the dead rose up, clawing at any piece of him they could reach, disconnected limbs thrashing, and Keith’s entire body seized. Rover slipped out of his grasp, and Keith couldn’t save him. Laser blast fired overhead.

It wasn’t enough. Rover’s scream echoed as he struggled, dragged towards a metal air shaft as their world lit with gun fire.

Keith had to do this, he wasn’t going to let Pidge lose Rover again. He wasn’t going to let his nightmares win. His knees buckled, but he threw himself into the fray. Rover screamed and screamed. Then he just stopped, and that was a thousand times worse. Something slithered ahead in the darkness, metal against metal. It draped across Keith’s shoulders, a solid, heavy weight that curled towards his throat, and Keith snarled. Poisoned quintessence flickered to life, outlining the terrified face of a young boy as the drone’s tendrils moved to impale him.

“NO!”

Rover turned to him, his head lolling like a marionette’s, but metal had gone still for just a second, a moment, and Keith lunged, tearing it apart with his bare hands. His fangs bared, ears flicked back. Fury tasted like metal and cut too close to fear, but what was left of the drone crumbled in his hands. Then there was nothing left.

“How did you…?” Rover croaked, but Keith grabbed him by the arm, tacky blood smearing across the boy’s shirt, but he had to make sure Rover was in one piece. He was shaking like a leaf, but he was alive enough to be scared. Right now that was a win.

The last crackle of blaster fire faded. Smoke filled the air. Everything was still.

“Pidge-” Rover breathed out. The sight of his friend relighting his morale, and he pulled away from Keith to run to her. She caught him in an embrace, and Keith let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. She yanked Keith in hard too, hugging him tightly and thumping against the back of his environmental suit. Shiro wasn’t far behind, all too eager to draw them all in.

Alana patted Rover on the back and offered her support, but didn’t seem to share any of their relief. “Drones don’t come back like that. Someone has to be controlling them.”

“Impossible!” Fern protested, pulling himself out of his hiding spot. “There can’t

“I knew there were still Galra alive!” Fern looked around frantically, pulling himself out of his hiding spot. His hand hovering near his blaster handle. Pidge pulled Rover close as Fern’s panicked gaze settled on Shiro and Keith. “Elites can look like anyone, even one of us. You really expect us to believe that you to just ‘showed up’ out of nowhere? You’re probably Elites in disguise, you’re Galra!”

“Calm down.” Shiro said, trying to diffuse the situation. They were half right after all, but that knowledge was too dangerous to share. “I told you, we’re here to help. We were warned there might be trouble from a friend on Balmera Prime, we’ve been trying to reach you for weeks.”

“Lies! You’re here to pick us off one by one and then murder the Paladin!” Fern shrieked, pulling out his gun and shakily pointing it at the pair. “That’s why you won’t let us leave. You’re keeping us in this death trap of a station until you mechs can program something to kill us.”

Alana put her hand out. “Fern, relax. We have to be absolutely certain before we do anything, I’m not going to let us turn on each other because we’re afraid. If there’s a Galra among us, we’ll find out.”

“Unless  _you’re_  the Elite. You’re the one who’s been leading us into danger this entire time!”

“Fern, please.” Alana implored, but she flinched away from him, withdrawing her hands to show that she was weaponless. “You know me. We have to work together or we’ll-”

“NO!” He snarled. “You’re one of them, I know it! I kill you and-”

He never saw Keith coming. Without warning or care, Keith attacked, knocking his blaster to the ground before pinning him. Rover dove for the gun, pulling it out of reach before Fern could catch up. It was over in a second, Over his head, Shiro smiled at him, a strange kernel of delight passing through their mental link. Something about being the only Galra in the group and justice. Keith snorted under his breath. His pulse was racing, but with Fern struggling fruitlessly in his grasp, a new sense of calm had settled over the group.

Alana still hadn’t given up on reasoning with him. “Fern, please be reasonable. We’ll leave, everything will be okay.”

He turned away from her, a sudden, hopeless sob wracking through his frame, and when she tried to comfort him, he retreated further.

“But… the Paladin?” Pidge asked uncertainly, and Rover nodded vehemently.

“Pidge’s right. If he’s here, we can’t just- leave him?” The Quvari exchanged a glance, almost like they could understand each other in the way their Koryu counterparts could.

Fern was inconsolable. “And run into more drones and more Elites? We don’t know how many Galra are on the station! They probably killed anyone who didn’t make it to the escape ships in time, or worse. We have to just assume we’re the only people left.”

“Why didn’t you leave with the rest of them, then?” Pidge snapped. “If anyone’s an Elite, it’s you. You’re the one who keeps telling us to leave the Paladin behind.”

The Quvari man flushed a deep blue, caught between fear and indignance. “I could say the same thing about you!”

“Enough.” Alana’s voice cut through their argument. “The Galra are the ones who destroyed the remaining escape ship and trapped us here, and we’re not going to solve anything by fighting each other. We might be the only survivors left, but I believe the Paladin is still here somewhere and we’re going to find him.”

Shiro tried to help their group together and focused on the mission. “He was able to record a broadcast, he had to have done it somewhere. Were you able to recognize anything from the video?”

“Central research!” Rover snapped his fingers. “I recognize the display behind him, that has to be where he was. We could check it out. It’s as good a lead as anything right now.”  
  
“You’re setting us up to be killed!”  
  
“You stubborn idiot, I oughta-” Pidge made to lunge, but Rover held her back just in time.   
  
Keith was done with arguing. He shook the Quvari in his grasp, a quick, sharp motion to help him appreciate his situation before addressing the room at large. “Fine. We’ll find Central Research, and if he’s not there, we’re leaving. No more risks. We have to trust that the Paladin has his own resources.”  
  
No one looked happy about that. The faces he met were damn near mutinous. Keith couldn’t say he blamed them.

Alana was the first to step first. She nodded, but her expression was grim. “Agreed.”  
  
“But-”  
  
“He’s right, Pidge. We need to get out of here.” Her voice softened around an apology, but there was no room for argument.   
  
Keith tightened his grip on his captive, drawing the full brunt of Fern’s attention. “If you cooperate, I’ll let you go. If not, we’ll drag you with us anyway.”  
  
For a moment, it seemed like Fern test his threat. Then his shoulders slumped with resignation. They set out again, Alana leading and the Koryu in the rear, but this time, Pidge and Rover seemed far more interested in guarding Fern.   
  
No one noticed when Keith reached for Shiro or the suspicion that darkened his brow. The message was for Shiro alone, past between the strange fabric of their environmental suits.

_Something’s not right._

The hall to the research labs was blocked with wreckage, the floors above had collapsed down from gaping holes above. It was clear that whatever battle the station had seen was more than just the drones that had stormed the corridors. Huge sections of the stations were destroyed, the weapons from the Galra ship ripping through the unprotected outpost and tearing breeches through the hull. Alana had been so sure that everyone else had been able to reach the escape ships in time and Shiro wished that he believed her. It was unlikely anyone had survived this.

The Prince was always one step ahead.

Not for the first time, Shiro found himself wishing they could have done more. It had taken weeks to travel here from Balmera Prime, even at top speed. They’d left as soon as they received Lady Kal’s warning, but it hadn’t been fast enough. If the people here had suspected they were in danger, they hadn’t realized how imminent the attack would be. They’d held their own, but at what cost? And if the paladin was here, if they lost him too, what hope did Koryusai have? Time was almost up and all Shiro could see was his own world left in ruin like this, the cities in rubble and bodies in the streets.

Alana stopped by an access hatch, prying the door open with her fingers. “We can use the maintenance tunnels to get around the damaged sections. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but the readouts say they’re still pressurized. Oxygen might be a little thin, but we’ll make it.” Fern opened his mouth to complain, but a sharp look from Pidge and he settled on silence.

“I’ll go first.” Keith said, forestalling any argument. “Shiro, take the rear just in case.”

Keith caught Shiro’s nod before stepping into the dim. A whoosh of pressurized air blasted in front of his face. Around him the Quvari coughed. The maintenance tunnels were ten degrees hotter. A broken pipe sent thick tendrils of steam through the air, leaving moisture dripping down the front of his helmet. Keith tried to wipe it away, but with little avail.  
  
“Everyone okay?” He asked, but the only one he could see clearly was Alana. Behind her, the rest of their party had been reduced to shadow, illuminated only by the glow of their activated blasters. A murmur passed through them, something like agreement, and Keith could pretend that was enough. Right now, they had no other choice.

He got about two feet, and then he had to crawl. The service corridors were meant for quick access, not prolonged stays. It surrounded them, claustrophobic and oppressive. The environmental suit felt bulky and awkward, catching on the hanging wires and broken panels that hung in their way. Steam curled around his faceplate as moisture gathered from the ceiling and dripped down to pool beneath their fingers.

Progress was slow. What little light they had scattered across the mist, leaving them directionless but unwilling to admit they were lost.  
  
Rover let out a bone-rattling cough. It seemed muted in the thick air. “Harda… breathe.”  
  
“We can’t slow down,” Shiro said, but he stayed by the boy’s side. “It’ll only get worse.”

Rover tried to push him away, forcing himself to straighten. Pride like stubbornness spearing him on. “I’ll be fine.” He got about three yards before another hacking cough wrenched through him.

“You can do this.” Shiro put a gentle hand to his shoulder, even if he couldn’t hear the rest of his unspoken reassurances. “One hand in front of the other, reach out and follow the person in front of you.”

The young Quvari gave a shaky nod, hands burning on the hot metal of the access tunnel as he crawled after Pidge. Shiro followed slowly, hoping that the ordeal would end soon. Sound echoed too much for his hearing to pick up anything more than the clang as they crawled and their racing pulses. The environmental suit kept the heat from searing into his skin, and Shiro wished he could share its protection with the others, but he didn’t dare take it off. His own air supply was dwindling, and they’d have to return to the Freedom soon or risk complete failure.

“We’re going to die in here.” Fern wailed and Shiro could feel the others tense, the darkness seeming to close in around them.

“Just keep going, we’re almost out.”

“I can’t, I-I…” panic was a tangible thing, and Shiro could taste it even through the air recyclers of his suit. “I’m not going to die in the dark!”

“Fern, you’re okay. Just keep moving, no one’s going to die.”

“I won’t! I can’t!” A heavy weight crashed into Shiro and knocked him aside, Fern scrambling back through the access tunnel towards safety. Anything was better than burning alive, crawling forever in the thick, airless darkness until they died in the bowels of the station where no one would ever find them. Shiro tried to grab him, but the Quvari wiggled free and kicked out in his panic, taking a knee to the side of his skull. Shiro shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears as Fern scurried back the way they’d come.

Fern’s wails were cut short as a bulkhead slid into place in front of him, blocking his escape. He reared back, terrified. Before he could rejoin the others, a second bulkhead descended behind him, trapping him between.

“Fern!”  
  
Alana cried out and tried to rush to his side, but she was forced to crowd the rest of the group. Fern didn’t care. He just screamed, banging against the glass barrier. Shiro clawed at it, trying to tear it apart, but as they watched, the pressure in the cabin plummeted. Fern howled and thrashed, the sound of rushing air echoing through his ears. Another scream twisted through the air. Fern tried to tear through the barrier, his nails gone bloody as he broke them across glass. Shiro couldn’t find any purchase, they were running out of time, blood spilled from Fern’s eye sockets.  
  
“Shiro!”  
  
Another barrier rattled as it fell, but Rover grabbed Shiro around the waist and yanked him to safety, a hair’s breadth saving his legs. Above them another clanged and clacked.  
  
“Run!”  
  
“No, no Alana ALANA!” Fern’s screams echoed after them, pierced by the clang of falling metal and glass, or fire doors weaponized. The Quvari scrambled on singed palms, panic as thick as the mist that choked them. Then Fern stopped screaming altogether.  
  
They threw themselves through the exit bursting into open air.   
  
“Fern!” Alana howled. She tried to go back, but Keith held her firm, yanking her back. Suddenly a laser blast above them, missing Alana by a whisper.

There was no time to mourn. The broken station turned on them driven by some invisible hand, or corrupted code. Security turrets sent blaster bolts left black burns deep into the metal as they all dove for cover. Shiro found himself with Rover and Pidge, Alana and Keith separated by the gauntlet in the mouth of another tunnel across the room.

“Shiro, hold on!” Keith cried and Shiro watched him gather himself to spring. The turrets swiveled, too fast and too many, ready to track his movements and incinerate him where he stood.

Shiro waved his hands, urging them on. “Go! We’ll meet up with you in Central Research.”

“I’m not leaving you!”

There was almost nothing that would ever be able to stop Keith’s stubbornness or their drive to protect each other, but Alana grabbed Keith’s arm and pulled him away as the turrets fired off another round. There was return fire, but as Keith was pulled away, it cut off abruptly. As soon as they were out of range, Keith turned on her, fangs bared behind the face plate of his environmental suit.

“We left them behind!”

“We couldn’t make it across the room. If there’s another way to Research, they’ll find it.”

“ _IF_?” His hands squeezed into fists, rage crashing through him until his vision narrowed to nothing. Shiro was his partner and they’d left him behind, lost on a station that was out to destroy him with two frightened children as a guide. “I’m not leaving without him.”

“You’re going to keep going and meet him at the end.” Alana said, an order that didn’t leave room for disagreement. “Pidge can find the way and from what I’ve seen of your friend, he can handle himself.”

She was right, though Keith didn’t want to admit it. Metal whirred as the turrets closest to them suddenly came to life, swiveling to aim directly at them. Now it was Keith’s turn to grab Alana, pulling her back as they ran under the hail of laser bolts. They dove through an open door into the med bay, barricading themselves from the crazed machines. “We need to shut the defense system down!”

“I’m trying.” Alana crawled to one of the control panels, typing commands frantically. “I don’t know if I can get in from this system.”

“Try!” Keith snarled. He slid a medical table into the doorway, adding to their protective barrier to buy them another minute, maybe two. His ankle hit something soft and he froze, looking down at the sprawled body at his feet.

A body with tangled brown hair, matted with crimson.

Pidge lay motionless on the floor, in a pool of her own blood.

That sick, icy chill of terror took him again.

 

* * *

 

The sound of gunfire still echoed in Shiro’s ears. He fought the urge to turn back for the umpteenth time. If the turrets were still active, there was no way Keith could’ve followed. Their only choice was to keep moving, to hope that at the end of this damned path was some sort of refuge. The Paladin was the key to everything. They were so close, Shiro could feel it. He just had to believe that Keith would meet them on the other side.

“Stick close, we need to hurry. We can go back for them after we find the Paladin.” If the Paladin was still there. If he was even still alive. Shiro couldn’t allow himself to think like that.

Rover let out a wheezing exhale, still trying to catch his breath. Shiro worried he would have to carry him. He’d was still too pale, and beside him, Pidge watched with an inscrutable expression.

“I’m okay. We  _need_  to hurry.” Rover repeated, stubborn til the last. For all that his legs still buckled, it was a valiant effort.

Shiro would have kept moving, should have, but the faint whirr of a compact generator caught his attention. An activating laser. Just as he turned, Pidge fired at the back of her best friend’s skull. An execution.

Shiro didn’t have time for doubt. He threw himself at Rover, knocking the boy to the ground, the blast passing close enough to singe the skin across his cheek when it should have taken his head off. Rover gasped, but Shiro returned fire. He didn’t even come close.

“Pidge!” Rover’s wail carried heartbreak and confusion, but Pidge fired again forcing them to cower behind a downed control panel. “What are you doing?”

“That’s not Pidge.” How could he have missed it? The pieces fell together with terrible clarity but there was no time for doubt. He vaulted from cover, drawing her fire away from the boy.

“Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.” Pidge’s voice melted into something deeper. Older. Cruel. The young Quvari changed with it, body twisting and changing as her skin bled from blue to orange. She would have been beautiful if she hadn’t been so monstrous. “If you stay still, I promise it won’t hurt.”

Shiro didn’t bother responding to her taunts. He dashed from cover and straight for the Elite, bowling her over and hoping to crush her back against the wall. She was more agile than he’d anticipated and used his momentum against him, knocking Shiro off his feet. Instinct kicked in and he rolled, lashing out to knock her legs from under her. If he could keep close, he could keep her off balance. There wasn’t room for blaster fire. As long as he didn’t give her time enough to aim, he could have a chance.

They scrabbled for purchase as Shiro knocked a precariously leaning beam of metal to the ground, almost crushing the Galra Elite. She dodged just in time, eyes wild and grinning as if enjoying the fight. Turning the ships systems against her prey had been easy, a fight with a worthy challenger was much more fun.

“You don’t have to do this!” Shiro dropped, narrowly missing a sharpened piece of broken metal that whizzed by his head. She only laughed.

“Scared little animals to the slaughter, that’s all you are.” The Elite moved back as motion caught in the corner of her eye and smiled again. “So predictable like all organics. We could have saved you if you let us, but you’re too stupid to accept a gift. And some of you are too weak to bother with.” She grabbed Rover by the leg and yanked him out of his hiding place as the boy screamed. Shiro lept over the rubble, pushing himself to go faster, move faster, get there in time!

Shiro grabbed the boy in his arms to shield him and screamed as the world dissolved into pain.

It caught him in a vice grip, tearing through his nerves and flooding him with too much. His muscles seized, dark spots twisting across his vision. When they hit the ground, Shiro didn’t get back up. He couldn’t breathe. His lungs throbbed in his chest, screaming for air, but warm copper spilled across his tongue and down the back of his throat, choking him.

Rover pushed out from under him, making a grab for Shiro’s fallen blaster with unsteady hands. His eyes were wide with horror, but he tried to block Shiro from view as the Koryu clung to consciousness by a thread. Gore had splattered across his shirt. The Elite watched them, the edges of her smile sharpening as Rover tightened his grip on the weapon.

“Come on, little one. Prove you’re deserving of an honorable death. I can make it fast.”

“No,” Shiro slurred, his voice barely recognizable as he struggled to his feet. “Stop… I won’t let you.”

He couldn’t move, not when everything hurt so much, not when he couldn’t stop crying, but if he didn’t, she’d destroy everything.

He couldn’t die here, not yet. Not until he was sure Rover was going to survive and that Keith- Oh Light, Keith.  _I’m so sorry._  The world narrowed to a tunnel of pain and darkness that threatened to pull him down, but Shiro stood. Shiro fought, yanking Rover back and striking out at the Galra. His attacks were batted aside like they were nothing, but he tried again and again. Pushed beyond his limits but moving through sheer determination that refused to let him die. His side was a mass of wet, sticky blood and he couldn’t see through the haze, but he  _fought_.

“Almost a shame to kill you, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a fight like this.” The Elite cooed as she grabbed his face in her long fingers. “Another kill for Ezor. I would have preferred to take you, but duty calls, and you’re not the Paladin. Oh well.”

“But I am?” A cheerful voice boomed from behind her. Ezor didn’t have a chance to react. Wetness spattered across Shiro’s face, staining his skin a deep purple as the Galra met his eyes in shock. She tried to speak, lips parted as she gurgled and blood oozed down her chin. Yellow eyes rolled back into her head as she slumped heavily to the floor.

The Paladin stood behind her and flourished his cape so quickly the colors blurred across Shiro’s vision. There was a sword in his hand, his face half-hidden by a helmet and a mustache? Shiro tried to get to his feet, but his body refused to respond.

“Oh no you don’t!” The voice commanded as someone shouldered his weight. “You can’t die yet, young man. Come on, stay with me. Help is on the way.”

Shiro didn’t want to die, but it hurt. Light, it hurt so badly. It felt like he was being torn apart. His knees buckled under his weight, and there was nothing else to distract him from the bitterness that crept up his throat. He was scared. He was so painfully scared, and he didn’t want to die.

“Come on, soldier. It’s not over yet. Stay with me.”

Shiro wanted to tell him that he was doing his best, but something was terribly wrong and it was so, so cold. Numbness crept across his veins, sliding beneath the taut pull of pain as darkness dotted his vision. The last think Shiro thought, before the shadows swallowed him whole, was that he wasn’t ready to die.

 

* * *

 

Keith couldn’t think straight. They were working as quickly as they could, but Pidge was still disoriented and only barely conscious.

“We have to get moving,” he said, but his urgency was tapered by concern. Pidge’s gaze was distant and unfocused. She couldn’t stand. Keith didn’t want to think about what that meant.

“What happened?” She mumbled as Keith helped her regain her balance.

“You’re gonna be okay.” His comfort died on his tongue as a man swept into the room, followed by a flowing cape and Rover trailing at his heels. But it was the figure in the man’s arms that locked his attention, Shiro limp and bleeding, his entire arm ruined. Charred flesh peeled back from bone and Shiro was terrifyingly still. “What’s-”

“Coran, set him here!” Alana ordered as the flamboyant man gently set Shiro at her feet. She kept Keith at bay as she knelt beside Shiro, pulling the Koryu into her arms.

“Shiro, please.” Something broke inside of him as power bled from the doomsday weapon in his chest.

Alana’s voice was sharper, confident, full of command as she ordered Keith to stay back. The blue features of the Quvari melted as smoothly as any Galra shapeshift, skin darkening and long flowing hair gleaming a pearlescent white. Her hands glowed with power, a pure glittering pink as she wove raw quintessence between her very fingers, casting her net over Shiro’s arm. She manipulated life itself, plucking it from the air and feeding it through Shiro’s wounds, forcing his heart to keep beating.

“You.” Keith whispered, finally recognizing the woman in front of him for who she truly was. The one who’d saved him, who was saving them all. “Paladin Allura.”

 

* * *

 

 

_–Begin Recording?—_

_> >Yes_

“I’ve always been certain, even when I had no reason to be. I probably should have just called it arrogance.” Keith gave the camera a faint smile. “When I fought for the Empire, I knew without a doubt that I was doing the right thing. I never questioned anything until I met the Paladin. She was… nothing like anyone I’d ever met before. Beaten down, a prisoner, humiliated in chains, I looked into the Paladin’s eyes and I saw the same utter conviction I felt burning inside of me. But tempered with something else. Sorrow. Kindness. Things I’d never felt before.”

“I’d always thought that the Galra were perfect and everyone else needed our help to reach their full potential. Suddenly, I was face to face with someone who was my equal. No, better than I was. I didn’t know how to react.”

He tipped his head back to rest on the seat and sighed, looking weary and exhausted as he fought through painful memories that he’d spoken out loud. It had been easier when they’d slipped from his skin into Shiro’s mind, his whole poisonous history laid bare. But he hadn’t chosen to share his secrets then, he’d lost control in a vulnerable moment. It hadn’t been his choice.

Now, he finally put them into his own words.

“She talked whether or not I paid any attention, it never stopped. I don’t know why I started to listen. Somehow, the words go through my arrogance and self-importance. It infected me just as deeply as any Galra virus, changing me into something new. I learned about other people, not as sad barely sentient creatures waiting for our pure robotic code to elevate them, but as unique, complex individuals.”

“I cared about my people, my heart was a weakness to the Galra and always had been. For the first time in my life, I realized it could be a strength.” He looked so young for a moment, an uncertain man who’d lost his life and his home with no way back. “I just wanted to save them.”

“We tortured the Paladin, it was still my duty to force obedience and get what we needed to build Project Zero. Every day, the Paladin grew weaker and our weapon neared completion, but she never gave up. She was like you, Shiro. Stubbornly hopeful to the bitter end, I don’t know how you managed.”

“In the end, I tried to save them all, my people and the Paladin. It wasn’t enough. I failed.”

“I keep failing.”

Keith pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes and curled his legs up into the chair. “How do I save anyone now?”

  _–End Recording—_


	28. Chapter 28

Shiro’s eyes were heavy, glued shut by exhaustion. It was easier to keep them closed and drift, disconnected enough that the voices stayed meaningless murmurs in a language he could pretend not to understand. His thoughts were silent and he missed the constant hum of his people, a reassuring presence even if they were out of touch. In space, there was only isolation.

When he finally managed to open his eyes, the world was blurred and out of focus. The room was dark, lit only by the night flowers overhead. The Freedom. 

A cool hand brushed his forehead. Shiro could swear he saw some kind of lingering glow behind his eyelids. Pain ebbed, like mist on a new day. “What…?”

“Hush, you need rest.” That was definitely not Keith. Shiro struggled to sit up. He dug his fingers into the side of the med bay bed and- his arm. His arm was gone, nothing but ghostly memories of feeling from the elbow down.

“Oh, Light.”

It couldn’t be real. This was all a dream. A nightmare. Shiro tried to push himself up, but his balance was off. The protective guard around his cot pressed against his skin, but he couldn’t find his balance and something was beeping, louder and louder, and the wailing in his head rushed to meet it.

“Keith.  _Keith!”_

Somewhere there was a crash. There was cold. Then there was nothing.

Shiro slept.

He dreamed of cities bathed in alien light, made of steel, made of crystal, made of all the colors the Koryu didn’t have names for. He dreamed about flying into a sun, long tongues of gold and red rising to meet his ship. He dreamed of the Garrison. He dreamed of home. In every dream, he wasn’t alone.

Everything was muffled. Shiro wanted to hide.

“- incompatible. Better than anything I’ve seen, but not like us. Any more would only hurt him.”

“What else is there? There has to be something, maybe in-” A sharp intake of breath. Metal grinding across the floor.

“Hey. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing just… He’s awake? Shiro?”

Shiro couldn’t open his eyes, so he didn’t try. The darkness welcomed him with a kiss. Nothingness was mercy. It was still so cold. He slept on.

Soft hands combed through his hair. There was time. There was distance. No questions, or cries, just a tender blanket over his feverish skin, smooth like silk. A balm over his frayed nerves.

“-always wanted to see Xlordae en Ral. The way she talked about it changed my mind. Never saw it outside of the hive. And the glass geysers of Melemauna, you promised…”

The voice trailed off, a wave of heaviness settling between their bond. Shiro wanted to comfort him, but everything was already slipping away. He just wanted Keith to know that he was going to stay.  _Don’t stop_ , he almost said. 

Almost. 

Then Shiro drifted.

It was a long time before he was clear-headed. The med bay was empty when Shiro woke up. That wasn’t supposed to be a relief. He screwed his eyes shut, told himself it was going to be okay, but when he tried to curl his hands into fists, there was nothing.

Bitterness lodged in his throat. A pilot without an arm, one more thing that the galaxy had taken from him. When he’d snuck out of the protective bubble of his city to dream of the stars, he hadn’t realized the truth. They’d looked so beautiful from Koryusai, but they were ugly up close. For every new world and every fascinating new culture, there was war and hatred. Slavery. Capture. Pain. Loss.

And now it had taken more from him than Shiro had known he could give.

His dream of exploration had turned into a frantic mission of help, the fate of an entire planet weighing on him. Saving his people was worth any cost, but that didn’t mean it didn’t feel too high. Why him? Why did it have to be him that paid over and over again? He’d seen what he could become in Keith’s memories and it all felt too close now.

Soon, he would find a way to stand and wear his smile like war paint. He always would. Shiro didn’t know if he should be proud of his ability to swallow his own grief and keep moving forward, but there wouldn’t be time for such selfishness. What happened to him never mattered when other people were in trouble.

He knew what he was supposed to do, but alone in the almost darkness where no one could see him, it didn’t matter. Here, he wasn’t the hero of his people, he was just a young man, pushed too far beyond his limits. With a soft, shuddering breath, Shiro cried.

He turned into his pillow, trying to ignore the strange weightlessness of his right side, but its absence screamed through his skull. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to hurt this bad. It wasn’t supposed to be real. They’d wanted to change everything.

But no matter how far they ran, Keith couldn’t seem to leave his past, their future, behind.

The door to the med bay opened with a whisper, spilling light into the dim.

“Shiro?”

Of course it was Keith. It couldn’t be anyone else, and Shiro tried to bury himself further, biting the inside of his cheek until he drew blood. It was almost enough to silence himself, but nothing could have kept Keith away.

“Hey, it’s…” Keith’s emotions were a tangled web that Shiro refused to acknowledge. A wave of revulsion welled up in Shiro’s gut, a nerveless horror that left the blood draining from his features and his palms clammy. Keith had seen too much.  

“Stay back,” he snarled, voice gravel rough, and when Keith touched him, he flinched.

He’d always teased Keith about not being able to control his emotions, but here he was, no better. Worry thrummed between them, regret. It was all too much and Shiro pulled away. “ _No_.”

Keith swallowed hard and tried to smile. How did Shiro manage this all the time, it was so much harder than it looked? “You’re going to be okay. Allura… Alana’s real name. She’s the Paladin, she managed to heal you even if she couldn’t save your arm. She said, she said she could help make a prosthetic for you. She’s got technology I’ve never seen before, she can-”

“No.” Shiro’s voice was rough.

“Shiro, please. She can give you your arm back, it’ll be exactly like it was.”

“But it won’t be, and you know that.” Shiro watched the play of emotions over Keith’s face before he hid everything behind his scowling wall. He didn’t even have to touch his partner to know. The guilt was written on him, clear as anything and even if Shiro didn’t blame Keith, he didn’t have the strength to comfort Keith when he was the one who’d lost something.

“I shouldn’t have brought you. I knew it was going to be dangerous, I should have left you on Koryusai where you’d be safe. This is all my fault.”

Shiro’s ears flattened against his skull and he snapped, harsher than he meant to be. “Just stop.  _Stop._  I don’t need your pity or your apologies I just need…”

“What? Anything.”

“I miss home.” Shiro laughed. It was an ugly sound. “I was so eager to get away, now look…”

He watched Keith struggle, watched the promise form on the tip of his tongue, but the Galra didn’t make a sound, and something bitter and resentful twisted in Shiro’s gut, vicious and petty and all he could hold on to.  _Good. Good, you couldn’t change anything anyway._

Shiro never said the words. He tucked them away, burying them where Keith would never see, like the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. Someday he would think back to it. Someday there would be room for guilt and regret, but it almost felt good to be cruel. At least then he would deserve some of this.

“Get out.”

“We’ll do everything we can.”

“I said get out!”

Keith fled, and in the silence that followed, Shiro knew not to expect any satisfaction.

 

* * *

 

Getting dressed was awkward and humiliatingly slow. Shiro hated feeling so helpless. Keith would be there in an instant if he called out. He always would. The universe could crumble and everything else could fall apart, but Keith would always be his partner. It had never weighed so heavily on him. He couldn’t decide on guilt, frustration or anger. What kind of partner would Shiro be in return? He’d tried so hard to keep going and focus on their mission, but he’d never been a soldier. Now, his weakness was on display, and he’d let everyone down, his people and Keith.

Someone knocked on the door frame and Shiro stiffened before he gave the woman a nod. Allura, not Alana. She wasn’t Quvari any longer, Shiro wondered if the shape she wore now was her real one. Her skin was dark and long white hair spilled over her shoulders. Her ears were oddly shaped, and there were markings on her face. Shiro didn’t know if they were tattoos or some kind of natural pigment of the skin. “Hello. I’m sorry to bother you, I just wanted to know how you were feeling.”

If she could just tell him, that’d be great. Shiro was sick of being stuck on exhaustion. “I’m fine, Paladin.”

She brushed her hair behind her ear and offered Shiro a smile. “It’s just Allura, please. It’s nice to finally meet you as myself. I apologize for the deception, I couldn’t be sure who to trust.”

“Of course.” Shiro said, but it was an effort to care any more. He should have been relieved. Ecstatic. She signified the end of a mission, a job well done. The Resistance would be able to offer aid to his people. He didn’t know if they would be evacuated like the staff of that research facility, or if there would be a battle to fight, but that was above his pay grade. He was done.

The thought of that made him nauseous.

“I appreciate your concern, but if it’s okay, I’d like to rest.” He had deeper reserves of diplomacy than he expected. Shiro was almost proud of himself, except the Paladin wasn’t leaving.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” She approached his bedside, voice soft like she was approaching a cornered beast. “In order to stabilize you, I had to use a large quantity of quintessence, a healing method that… It’s hard to say how it’s affected you. `I’d just like to do a quick check up? It is, unfortunately, not the science it once was.”

_And you couldn’t save the arm?_

It was an explanation Shiro cared little for, but protesting was more effort than letting her finish.

“I could read the graphs for you?” He said, glancing towards the active data sheet by his bedside. His tone was short and clipped. She didn’t seem to mind.

“That would be most helpful. Shapeshifting doesn’t grant access to language, though Keith seems to manage quite well. He’s helped where he can.”

The corners of Shiro’s mouth twitched, suddenly pointedly aware of the tightrope Keith walked. Allura had made it clear that deception would be, at best, a slight. “Keith, he’s… He’s special.”

Allura didn’t seem to notice his hesitation.

“That is very clear.” She said, earning herself more points as she settled beside Shiro’s bed and looked through the data. “You’re unique yourself, I’ve never met a species that could handle quintessence the way you can. Not just your body, this whole ship. It’s a marvel.”

Her interest caught him unaware and he murmured quiet thanks as she examined his arm. Allura was gentle but thorough, and Shiro grit his teeth to get through it. “Keith said you could replace it. Do whatever you need to do, I need to get back to work.”

“Stubborn too.” She said. “You never give yourself a moment to care for yourself, do you? Keith hasn’t told me much, he’s protective when it comes to you, but you’ve come a long way to find me.” Allura gently touched his sleeve. “And you’ve lost a lot.”

Of course Keith would protect him too, the thought made the misery in his chest loosen. He hadn’t been fair. Keith deserved better. He still did. When Keith had been afraid, he had pushed Shiro away in his fear. Shiro hung his head, guilty to have done the same thing. They were at their best when they were together, sharing their strength as well as their vulnerabilities. He knew better than this.

“He’s still waiting, isn’t he?”

“Right outside the door.”

It set off something warm beneath his ribs and Shiro squeezed his eyes shut.

“Is he okay?”

“I think so,” Allura murmured. “Are you?”

Shiro didn’t like his answer to that, so he didn’t give one. Instead he tried to push himself into a better position. If Allura noticed the way he struggled, she said nothing. Shiro reached for the data pad and typed in a few commands until the glass shimmered, before finally spitting out rows of statistics. They told him more than he wanted to know about himself at the moment, and he moved to face Allura completely. “These are vital statistics. If the text goes any darker than this, it means something’s going on.”

“Alright. Thank you.” She said, softly. She opened her mouth to say something else, only to shake her head. “Rest well Shiro. May we shine.” Her fingers sparkled with quintessence at the words.

Allura turned to leave, and Shiro’s stomach twisted unhappily. 

“Can you call Keith?” He blurted out, before he could second-guess himself even further. “I need to know what happened at the station. I’m ready.” He said.  _I have to try_. He meant. Once he started moving, he couldn’t let himself stop or that doubt and fear would creep back in. Focus on the mission and let everything else fade away. 

Allura looked like she’d prefer to argue with him, but she recognized a stubborn warrior and just nodded, The med bay door opened, and Keith didn’t even both to look like he’d been doing anything other than eavesdropping.

He hurried to Shiro’s side, stopping just out of reach, until Shiro’s shoulders slumped, and he gestured for him to approach. Keith didn’t say a word and just tucked himself at Shiro’s left side. Shiro braced himself for the moment they would connect, but Keith was controlled, gentle. They’d come a long way since those terrified moments at the local hospital. When Shiro leaned on him, Keith was there to hold him up.

“A status update?” He clarified. “Should I get Coran?”

Allura seemed to consider it for the moment. “Is he still at work with the Quvari?” Keith nodded. “That’s fine. I don’t think he needs to be here.”

Not for the first time, Keith wondered what had happened to him in their timeline. He’d never met the man, but before they captured the Paladin, her entire organization was a mystery. Keith wasn’t sure he wanted to know. 

“Pidge.” Shiro recalled, and it wasn’t the quick-footed Galra he recalled. Keith had gone still beside him, but when Shiro pushed, he gave in readily. “Your friend from…?”

“Yeah. That was her.” Keith exhaled in a huff. “We got to her just in time. She’ll be okay. She… she likes the Freedom.” 

The bittersweet fondness that passed between them told Shiro that the other Pidge liked it, too.

“It’s a unique ship,” Allura spoke up. “It reminds me of the old ways. Those power quintessence engines. How they would gleam. It was why we used to say… We were one under its light.” The Paladin looked so wistful for a moment, not just a young woman, but something almost ancient.

He risked a glance at Allura. The paladin perched primly beneath a spray of bright red flowers, offering them all a smile. She was waiting, but she would give them their time.

“She knows.” Keith said softly, but more was spoken between touch, a private line only for him and Shiro.  _She knows what I am._

“Do they all?”

“The young ones were… surprised. Pidge especially, but the Resistance knows that allies may be unconventional,” Allura said. “I suppose I should thank you for saving us. We knew there was an Elite on the station still, but we didn’t know where. We couldn’t risk leaving until we flushed her out just in case she followed us back to the fleet. I didn’t know she would get into the station’s programming and put us all at risk. Or take Fern.” 

For the first time, Allura was thrown. Real grief shone in her shimmering eyes.

“Are we really heading back to the Resistance?” Shiro asked slowly, like he wasn’t sure he believed it. “And the others from the station…”

“They’ve been transferred to safer neutral zones, yes. You’ve come a long way to find me. . Coran often takes the role of Paladin in public to protect me when we travel, even most of the Resistance doesn’t know where I will be most times.” 

“We’ve had some help, but we needed to. For your sake, as much as that of everyone in the galaxy. There’s more that I haven’t told you, but…” Shiro and Keith exchanged glances, one last moment of hesitation, the moment clear. Keith had been preoccupied. At least Allura could understand that.

There was no turning back now. 

“The Galra are trying to build a super weapon that puts everything at risk. They’re calling it Project Zero, it will let them fold space and time so they can spread their infection to all organic beings throughout the entire galaxy at once. But it’s more than that, they’re playing with Altean technology they don’t understand and one mistake means it can destroy everything. It’s too powerful to let them develop.” Keith explained, Shiro reaching out for him instinctively. “They need you to help them, we couldn’t let that happen.”

Allura clasped her hands to her mouth in horror. Indecision and confusion played in her bright blue eyes, but she would not let it overwhelm her. Allura settled herself with a deep breath, pushing down her revulsion as she met Keith’s eyes. “This is… the future you mentioned?”

“More.” Keith swallowed thickly, but he held her gaze. “You know I’m one of them. But I’m here because they succeeded. And I… I have it.” 

Allura stilled, her expression suddenly a mask of indifference. Shiro found himself moving closer, trying to block Keith with what little he could offer, but when the Paladin got to her feet, Keith held him steady. Allura approached slowly, reaching out when she was close enough. She trailed long fingers across his chest and Keith shivered, knowing the gentle touch gave away more than just the warmth of his skin.

“I can feel power inside of you, Altean power. Keeping it locked inside of you is dangerous.”

Keith pulled back and pressed his hand against his ribs. “I betrayed my people to get it away from them and watched my whole timeline collapse. I won’t let it happen again, this has to end now. We have a way to stop them. Pidge, our Pidge, she created a virus that was supposed to stop the Galra without killing them but she never managed to make it work. There was something about quintessence, but then-” Keith’s voice broke.

“Quintessence, that makes sense.” Allura murmured. Then she smiled, a brittle, hurt thing that made her look so young. “Your virus was made missing one key piece of information. Your people are my people.”

Keith’s brows furrowed, a spike of confusion Shiro shared. “What?”

“Even from his own, Zarkon lies.” Allura chuckled darkly. “Don’t you know? A long time ago, we were the same.”

Keith froze.

Allura looked sad, even ashamed. “My people are shapeshifters, you know this. Back before my people were gone, we would visit new species to learn from them. Their technology, their culture, but especially their genetics. It was more than just shapeshifting, we would find the most successful parts of their DNA and write it into our own. It took many years, adaption is a slow thing, but we would learn and change. Our methods were… too inefficient for some.”

“That’s not possible.” Keith said, but he was hesitant. “The Alteans were just another species that we- I would’ve heard about something. Surely the Elites would have known?”

“The ones old enough to remember didn’t want you to know. The Alteans were wiped out and the Galra Empire was born. Zakon made his own mythology and his own history while those of us who refused to follow dwindled until the Altean race became nothing more than a legend. We are the only two left, the only other Alteans now are the ones calling themselves Galra.”

This was her greatest shame, the ruination of her people at their own hands. The Galra had been their ancient enemy, but the truth was far worse. The galactic saviors of the ancient times had become their destroyers. She took a deep breath, laying her greatest secret at Shiro and Keith’s feet. “If your virus was made to stop the Galra, it needs to take into account the quintessence woven in their DNA. Our Altean DNA.”

Shiro didn’t know what to feel anymore. Before him stood someone who claimed responsibility of his people’s demise, and another whose kind threatened a second catastrophe. He was tired. Grief drained even the kindness of rest. “Will you be willing to help us finish the virus and save my people? Koryusai will be overrun and soon, the Resistance is the last hope we have to survive. If we can get Pidge’s help with the virus, we can save my world and stop the Galra before they make Project Zero. We can end the war.”

“We’ll do all that we can.” Allura promised. Shiro found it easy to believe her. “I think I’ll… I’ll go for now. I have a lot to think on.”

She bid them farewell, and the silence that followed seemed invincible.

“Shiro…” Keith started, then reached for him, permission whispered in a single touch, and Shiro sighed. Fatigue hit hard. No matter how he braced for it, it still wasn’t enough.

“I don’t want to sleep yet.” He mumbled, unsure who he was trying to please, or if he was just being stubborn. “I don’t want to be here.”

“You need to, just a little while longer.” Keith said carefully as if unsure Shiro wouldn’t yell at him again. He looked so worried that the guilt prickled at Shiro who finally sighed and grabbed Keith with his one good hand, pulling him close. Apologies flowed through their touch, embarrassment at having lashed out like a frightened child when all Keith had done was try to help. 

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re hurt, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay. I feel-, this is all out of control and I’m afraid, Keith. But that doesn’t mean I should take it out on the one person I love.”

Keith froze, Shiro could feel every muscle lock against him though through Keith’s sudden burst of emotion. He pulled back, trying to coax enough calm from Keith to be able to understand him. “You say it so easily.”

“I’ve said it before.” Shiro huffed softly, breath warm across Keith’s skin. “It shouldn’t be such a surprise anymore.”

“It isn’t, I mean. I-I just, I like it.”

Shiro laughed again, reveling in the sweet pining confusion radiating from Keith and using it to fill the well of grief and pain within him. It didn’t fix the cracks, but it helped ease the ache. Keith pressed closer, desperate to hold on in the too-small medbay bed.

Keith pulled the sheets up around them, letting Shiro hide the aches and pains beneath soft cushions. “We have to check your bandages,” Keith mumbled, almost diplomatically, and Shiro wondered how long Keith had been tending to him. He didn’t dare wonder how much longer they would have to put up with it. Any answer would be too long.

“Okay.” He said. He would have to figure out how to manage it without Keith. One more thing Shiro couldn’t think about right now. But Keith’s gaze felt like a physical weight, still hesitating, still unsure. Shiro leaned in and kissed his shoulder, his stubble scratching against Keith’s arm, and his partner folded into him.

“I can fix this,” Shiro promised. He was too chipper, too eager, but he tried to sell it every way he could. “The Koryu, we- I’m not afraid to move on.”

“It’s okay to be afraid. I-I, I’m afraid too.” The admission was quiet and cost Keith too much, but there were no secrets now. Not between the two of them. The fight seemed to go out of Shiro and Keith realized just how strong Shiro’s control over his emotions had been.

Dark eyes glittered with pain and Shiro tried to wrap his arms around his love, forgetting that he couldn’t now. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” He whispered harshly. “It was supposed to be an adventure. I spent my whole life wanting this and it’s just, sometimes it’s too much.” 

It was more than just his arm. His people, his life, his  _dream_. The promise of an open sky and endless exploration, the freedom that had inspired him. The driving force in his life since he was a child, he’d given everything to get here and had found so much pain.

He understood now why his people were content to hide behind their shielded cities and never look to the stars. They were afraid, and so was he.

“I know what happened before. I don’t want to be that, Keith. I’m afraid it’ll take everything from me again. I can’t be him.”

“I know.” Keith soothed his fingers through Shiro’s hair, and Shiro shuddered beneath his regret.  

“I can’t right now, I just can’t be strong… I’m sorry.” They would pull themselves up because they always did, shouldering the future on their backs. But for right now, Shiro just let himself hurt.

“Then don’t.” Keith whispered fiercely. “You’re not him.”

Keith kept him steady as Shiro let the fear and pain wash over him until they tangled with the more mundane aspects of exhaustion. It gave his demons a more familiar face. Shiro didn’t know if he was meant to confront them or accept them, but it wasn’t a decision he was ready to make tonight.

“I wanted to share everything with you,” Shiro confessed softly. There was so much Keith hadn’t gotten the chance to see, too many memories Shiro hadn’t expected to miss so badly, like the first time he and his brother stole a glimpse at the sky. After a year of travel, Shiro felt like he’d left that behind lifetimes ago.

“You’ve been so open. I didn’t know, last time you were so hurt.” Keith stuttered and Shiro tightened his grip, burying his face against his mate.

“That’s the problem, isn’t it? What I was and what I could be.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

He sighed, slowly relaxing inch by inch as Keith gently rubbed his ears. “I didn’t want to be… I don’t want to be useless.”  _Weak_ cursed in the back of his thoughts. “Now, I can’t even fly my own ship.”

Keith was immediately defensive, not allowing anyone to denigrate Shiro’s skills, not even himself. “Of course you can! Even if you never want Allura’s prosthetic arm, you’ll be just find and-”

Shiro silenced him with a kiss. “I’m going to take it. I’ll tell her tomorrow, right now I just wanted to… I don’t know.”

“Grieve?”

“Maybe. Maybe I need to. We’re not any strangers to loss, my people have lost almost everything over and over again. We hold on to those memories, it tells us where we came from so that we can better find where we’re going.” Shiro took Keith’s hand and placed it over his heart.

“We are marked as we’re children to remember our past. We don’t run from our history, but that doesn’t make it easy.” He urged Keith onwards, gently coaxing, and Keith’s curiosity got the better of him. He pushed back the fabric, and on Shiro’s chest was a simple black circle. It was far less interesting than his other tattoos, he’d noticed it before though it had never caught his attention as much as the muscles beneath it. The ink had bled and smeared with age, leaving the edges frayed, but when they connected, the memories it shared were still vibrant.

Images of loss and war and mourning, battles fought for lofty goals. Then there was the aftermath, the struggle of survivors and their slower, quieter deaths. Suffering shared and suffering earned. All of it was tinged with reverence and awe, and in softer ways, anger. The Koryu carried the crosses of their fallen. They made sure to keep their history alive. Keith pulled away with a gasp, tears leaving his eyes glassy.

Very carefully, Shiro brushed them away. His voice seemed so loud. It pulled Keith out of their shared visions, grounding him in the present, even as his nerves continued to shiver. “When I first saw you, it was so strange - I mean. At lot was, but I’ve never seen anyone without our markings. All of our peoples have them, one way or another.”

Keith could still taste the ashes of a dying world on his tongue. “How can you bear it?” He whispered as a tear streaked down his cheek. How could anyone bear that much pain, carried inside of them since they were young. There was too much, the end of a world and the screams of people who couldn’t be saved. “How do you keep going?”

“Because we have each other.” He dragged Keith’s hands down his skin as fingertips brushed against other intricate, brightly colored tattoos. He opened himself completely, sharing everything he was without reservation or doubt. The memories tumbled together: the first time Shiro had seen the ocean, some celebration with his parents, the sound of his brother’s laughter as they raced across the barren wastes in a stolen hoverbike, the pride at being named pilot of the first deep space mission on Koryusai, the twist of hands in sheets, and love. Oh Light, the love. It poured through them with every painful image and every joyous success, it was the thread that tied each memory together and wove them into a life.

This was the core of him, the truth about Shiro that had never changed even when the future had broken everything else. Keith cupped Shiro’s face and pressed his forehead to his mate’s, overwhelmed and crying from the sheer strength of it. “You’re afraid.”

“I’m afraid of what I might become.” Shiro murmured.

“Me too.”

“Then we don’t let go of each other. You’re ink in my skin, Keith. You’re part of what makes me now.”

Keith wrapped his arms around him, hard enough to knock the wind out of him, and Shiro should have been more careful, it was too soon to be anything but careful. Yet pride and fear, hope and defiance swam together, and when Keith kissed him, Shiro felt like his heart was going to shatter in his chest. He tried to hold on, fist tight in the side of Keith’s shirt, fabric tearing beneath his claws. There was so much that threatened to overwhelm him, but Keith wasn’t going to give up on him.

And he would wait until Shiro was ready to fight for himself.

Shiro didn’t remember closing his eyes. He didn’t remember falling asleep. The insidious creep of exhaustion caught him off guard, and the last hour caught up with him in the quietest way. When he woke up, Keith was still holding him, stroking his fingers through his hair, and Shiro couldn’t remember feeling so warm.

Shiro could feel his chest rumbling beneath his head as Keith spoke. “There was a message. The fleet is coming to meet us. We’re almost there, go back to sleep, Shiro.”

“Almost there?” Shiro mumbled.

“Then we’ll go home.”

There was a quiet force behind Keith’s words, and Shiro looked up, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Keith didn’t remove his hand, sliding in against the grain of his mate’s hair until his bangs were standing on end, sleep tussled in the best sort of way.

“The Resistance can take care of the rest,” Keith continued. “It’s time for us to go home.”

Shiro didn’t have to speak, but here in Keith’s arms, it already felt like home.

 

* * *

 

When they finally faced down the Resistance, Shiro felt whole and only a part of it was due to the strange metal arm Allura had created for him. She had created Altean tech from pieces of the Freedom itself, weaving living quintessence with machine. It was metal still, shaped like the arm he’d lost and glowing faintly blue on the inside, but it could move and feel. Not quite like his own but he would learn.

It was the other change that made him feel at ease, a more private addition. A small shape of twin circles spiraling together in red and black adored his ribs, a new memory that defined his life and who he was. A declaration of his bond with Keith worn in his skin where his mate had always belonged and best of all, an identical design adorned Keith’s ribs too. Just looking over at Keith sent electric chills down his spine and Shiro felt overwhelmed with pride.

He could just imagine what his brother would say, Ryou would never stop teasing him for having an alien as a bonded lover.

The atmosphere around them felt just as charged, though Shiro guessed that had more to do with the enormous navy taking up the entire view screen. There were ships of every description, more fighters than Shiro had ever seen. It even put the Unilu fleets to shame. The entirety of the Resistance lay before them, orbiting a small planet that Allura told them was a young unnamed Balmera. This was the hope of the entire galaxy and the best chance his people had to survive the Galra threat. They’d finally made it and relief was sweet.

“Welcome to the Resistance.” Allura said, her eyes shining as she looked out over her people.

They clamored around her, eager to catch a glimpse of the might of the Resistance - everyone except Keith. For the first time since Shiro had known him, he looked uncomfortable in the pilot’s seat, left grim by his determination. It wasn’t a problem, it just wasn’t what Keith had wanted.

Shiro had only flown the Freedom once since his prosthetic was developed. It had responded to him. Just not well enough.

“Incoming transmission,” Keith grumbled, putting it up on the screen.

Allura approached, her head held high, and immediately, the Quvari on the line snapped to attention, giving her a sharp salute.

“Paladin Allura, welcome back.”

“It’s good to be back, Singor. We’ll be docking in the rho hanger. Coran will oversee the security checks, but can you patch me through to the labs?”

As soon as she’d started speaking, Singor had gone to work, typing frantically on a console they couldn’t see. “Yes, ma'am.”

There was a blink of static, then a pale creature with sharp features filled the screen. “Paladin Allura, welcome.”

“Hello Ulaz, it’s good to see you, too.” A smile quirked at the corner of her lips. It was a strangely resigned look. “Could you send a R&D representative to the rho hanger? We’ll be landing shortly. We may be swarmed.”

Ulaz didn’t share her amusement. If anything, his expression grew more solemn as he nodded his agreement. “At once, Paladin.”

“And Ulaz? One of your representatives as well?”

Ulaz’s voice dropped, slow with concern. “It may take some time.”

It wasn’t a denial.

“I will make sure you have some.”

The screen blinked off and Allura gave a small smile. “The Resistance council will meet as soon as we dock. I’ll bring them your weapon and your plan, and discuss our next course of action. They need to know what’s at stake.”

“And then they’ll help Koryusai?” Shiro asked, searching Allura’s face for a guarantee that his people would be safe.  What he saw just left him feeling troubled.

“I have a significant amount of influence, the Resistance follows my lead. I will do everything I can to convince them of the urgency of your people’s need.” She looked over at Keith. “And just how dangerous Project Zero will be.” It was the most she could promise and Shiro nodded, turning his attention back to the view screen.

They would succeed, they had to. They had come so far for this and he wasn’t going to leave without a way to protect Koryusai.

As chaotic as the fleet had been as they approached, the inside of the Command Ship was even worse. A motley honor guard met them at the landing bay, saluting Allura and Coran as they lead them off through the crowded halls. Pidge openly gaped at the ship as she trailed behind with Rover in tow, overwhelmed by the size of the ship big enough to be a city on most worlds. Shiro knew exactly how she felt. Strange technology blinked in the walls, powering viewscreens and displays. They pulsed with the same blue energy that powered his arm and he could feel a familiar thrum of quintessence in the air.

The ship itself looked like it had been carved from crystal and glass, intricately delicate and deceptively strong. Shiro glimpsed cascading silvery waterfalls thundering in a massive room they passed, another that looked like the inside of a crystalline cave cut with bright rainbowed reflections. It must have been Altean, one of the last remaining functioning pieces of a long lost species. If this ship answered to Allura’s command, then no wonder the Resistance followed her. It was a marvel.

A stout looking Quvari rushed up to her and bowed in reverence. “Your Council has gathered in the Main Hall, Paladin.”

“Is everyone accounted for?”

“Only those on the prime fleets.”

Allura’s expression pinched, but she nodded. They were lead to a large hall, in the center of which was a circular table. Already sitting were a dozen different species, representatives from the factions under the Resistance. There were still empty chairs left to fill.

“Welcome back, Paladin Allura!”

As she approached, voices rose in greeting, each eager to wish her well, but they quieted as they realized the Paladin wasn’t alone. Their attention lingered on the Quvari; the displaced were an unfortunate but familiar sight, but they quickly refocused on the strange representatives behind her. Allura’s smile remained in place.

“It is good to see all of you as well. Have a seat, everyone, please.” She claimed the chair closest to her, and gestured to the empty ones beside her.

Her Council barely let them get that far. “We have urgent matters to attend to,  _without_  interruption.” A stern looking Unilu said, before casting the Betrid across from him a disapproving scowl. “Certain factions are demanding too many resources, and our focus should be-”

“Hardly.” The Betrid interrupted in her booming voice. “Paladin, you understand our central border is the most important gateway-”

“But what about the outposts!”

“Please.” Allura put her hands out and the room lapsed into barely restrained silence. “I believe it‘s time for a full chronological recall of all official matters filed in my absence.”

“I-, P-paladin that could take hours,” the Unilu stuttered. “We don’t have time before-”

The doors to the council room opened with an imperious boom. In strode a Galra Elite, battle scarred and scowling, and Keith swallowed hard, recognizing Kolivan’s dour expression.

Allura smiled beatifically. “You’re absolutely right, Commander. I’ll begin immediately. I’ve just returned from Research Outpost 2113. While we managed to evacuate most of the staff, the entire station was destroyed by one of the Prince’s Elite generals.”

An older Quvari man stood in shock as Allura quickly continued. “It’s alright, Samuel. We found your daughter and I brought her back with me.” Pidge didn’t need any more prompting as she broke ranks and threw herself into her father’s arms. The room murmured worriedly.

“She was supposed to be safe, Paladin.” Samuel Holt said, wiping the tears from his eyes as he refused to let go of his daughter. “That’s why we left her there. She could further her education somewhere safe, how did the Prince ever manage to find it?”

“The incident on Balmera Prime was more severe than our messengers communicated. It was lucky that I arrived when I did or the station would have been lost.” Allura glanced over at Keith and Shiro. “Luckier that our new allies were there to help. This is Keith and Shiro, representatives from the planet Koryusai. They’ve brought us critical new information on a new Galra super weapon named Project Zero. With their help, we can put an end to the threat before it begins.”

The room erupted into argument, fear slithering through the council at the thought of the Galra with a new weapon.

“What is Project Zero, what can it do?”

“How are we going to stop it? Our forces are spread thin as it is!”

“The virus isn’t ready, we haven’t had much success.” Samuel said. “I need more time to finish my work if we’re going to move against the Galra in such a way.”

The table rattled as one of the men slammed heavy purple fists down, making everyone jump. Kolivan eyed the table sternly. “We have debated your genocidal virus before, doctor. The Blades of Marmora stand with you against the Empire, but I will not let you destroy us all in the process.”

The look on the Quvari’s face made it clear that the debate was far from over, but he still yielded when Allura gestured for their attention. “Kolivan’s right. Our enemies are doing their utmost to tear us down. They don’t need our help doing that. There are more pressing matters to attend to. We have reason to believe that the Galra will be converging on the planet Koryusai in the near future. The consequences will be catastrophic. We cannot let that happen.”

For all of her vehemence, her Council’s reaction was unfortunately lukewarm.

“How sure are we of the Galra’s attack?” A beady-eyed alien with sleek grey feathers asked. She as almost too polite.

“The Koryusais were the ones who told you about Project Zero?” Piped up a Betrid beside Samuel Holt. “Are you sure their information isn’t… self-serving.”

“Positive.” Allura answered, not even slightly deterred. “I’ve personally verified the Koryus’ information.”

The Betrid looked suitably chastised, but they didn’t stop entirely. “Of course, Paladin. But where even is this Koryu? Koryusai. If we’re only hearing about it now, it must be quite, quite far.”

“Their planet is the next to fall and it’s our duty to help them.” She said calmly as the arguments increased around her. “They’ve brought us a way to finally stop this war. Doctor Holt’s virus can be modified, it can stop the drones without destroying anyone. There’s a new way to-“

Doctor Holt stood so quickly that his chair tipped backwards. “Absolutely not! The process is too delicate, this is going to be our only hope of stopping things. We can’t risk weakening our only chance.”

“You just want to destroy us all. Ever since the Blades have joined with your Resistance, we have barely been tolerated. We have put our lives in danger, we’ve lost good men side-by-side with you, and you’re still planning to murder my people in the end. Innocent people!” Kolivan snarled, going toe-to-toe with Dr. Holt.

“There are no innocent Galra!”

The room erupted and Allura sighed, quietly gesturing to Shiro. “The two of you should go and get some rest, this is an old argument and it may be some time until I can guide them back to task. I will find a way to send help to Koryusai.”

Shiro nodded, looking troubled, and grabbed Keith before his mate could argue. They retreated, but as soon as the door closed behind them, Keith slammed his fist into the wall. “Stupid, cowardly  _bureaucrats!_  They were supposed to help us, why did I ever think they could focus long enough to get anything done? They were too reckless before, now they’re too fucking afraid.”

Shiro swallowed down frustration and fury, and it burned down his throat. For one second, home had felt so close, had felt so real. It had been over a year since he’d left Koryusai. A few more months wouldn’t change anything.

“Keith, it’s okay. They’ll work something out.” He said through gritted teeth, selling as much sincerity as a smile could carry. If you could lie to a Koryu, you could lie to anyone. Yet Shiro must have done something wrong, because Keith could see the emotions welling beneath Shiro’s control. There were dents in the wall he’d left behind, his own considerable strength getting away from him, but when Keith pulled Shiro into his arms, he was gentle.

“If they don’t, we will.” Keith promised, his ears flattened against his skull. The urge to scratch them was too much for Shiro to resist, so he didn’t. Keith huffed against him, but he allowed it. It was hard to say who it benefited more.

Behind them, someone cleared their throat.

Keith bristled, but his defenses dropped the moment he saw Pidge there, her expression pinched and unhappy.

“Guess I’m more like ‘em then I thought huh? I mean. Never mind.” She cleared her throat, took one look at the meeting they’d left behind and scowled harder. “Was I like that in the- where you’re from?”

Keith hesitated, but only a moment. “Yes.”

If anything, that just made Pidge more annoyed, but not at either one of them.

“My parents left me and my brother behind when they went to work for the Resistance. Then my brother went off to find them though he’s only like 20 years older than me. I really believed they were doing it to help, but they’re really planning on killing all the Galra, aren’t they?”

“And you don’t want to?” Keith asked skeptically and Pidge flushed, looking down.

“I thought I did, but you said I changed my mind.” She clenched her fists and met Keith’s eyes defiantly. “You’re a Galra and you saved my life. Rover’s too! You fought that other Elite to rescue us, you don’t deserve to die just because of what you are. If my Dad won’t listen, then I’ll finish the virus. I can do it, I’ve been studying and I can figure it out. Especially with Allura’s help on the quintessence.”

She looked so determined at Shiro had to smile, ready to risk everything to do what she felt in her heart was right. She might have been young, but she was brave and Shiro wouldn’t deny her the opportunity to fight. All of their lives were at stake, including hers. Even if he wanted to protect her, there was nowhere that was safe, the Resistance research station had proved that.

“You really think you could finish it?” Keith sounded so hopeful that Shiro leaned closer, his partner struggling to keep his stoic composure.

Pidge nodded fiercely. “I can do this, just trust me. Please?”

“I believe in you. We both do.” Keith said solemnly as he handed over his wrist display, remembering a brave young Quvari working until her last moment to give them a chance.

She started looking through it immediately, and Keith faltered for just a moment.

“Hey Pidge.” She looked up, glasses catching the light, and in that instant, Keith saw her with deeper lines across her face and blood on her hands. “Be careful. It’s, it’s all that’s left.”

She quieted, mouth twisted into a frown. “Okay Keith. I’ll find Rover. He can help.” She made to turn towards the council room, but stopped at the last minute and pulled Keith into a hug.

She ran off without another word, but it felt like she’d taken the rest of Keith’s brain with her. Suddenly a heavy weight clapped on his shoulder, and Keith jerked forward, trying to summon enough annoyance to scowl at Shiro. It was difficult.

“You’re still smiling.” His mate teased, ears fluffed up with an easy delight. It felt like so long since Keith had seen him like that. He’d missed it.

Keith scoffed, shoving at Shiro with no real heat. “Come on. Let’s see if there’s anyone actually useful on this ship.”

They walked away, shoulders bumping, and Keith thought that even if things were bad, he and Shiro would be able to find a way through, as long as they were together.

Just as they turned the corner, the corridor was bathed in red. A shrill alarm screeched through the halls.

Then the entire ship tilted, rocked by an unseen force. Screams filled the air, but the ship went dark.

Allura burst through the doorway, sprinting down the hall, her armor shifting like liquid around her. Energy coursed through her veins, and the ship caught what it could, spilling light wherever she stepped. There was no time for doubt. Shiro and Keith raced after her.

The ship listed again, explosions echoing down the halls. Blue energy flared at Allura’s heels are she poured quintessence into the ship, making it come alive at her command. Crackling blue lightning illuminated the darkness, leaving systems and viewscreens glowing faintly in their wake. Chatter burst over the communication, words too garbled to make out except for one.

 _Galra_.

Allura burst onto the command deck and into chaos. Resistance fighters scrambled to reboot the power as she placed her hands on a large crystal in the center of the room. Lightning flashed blinding bright and Shiro had to look away, blinking spots away from his vision. She summoned power from her very core, twisting ropes of blue and pink and white quintessence. None of the technology on Koryusai came close to this, he’d never seen anything like the way she could weave the energy with her very hands. Lights flickered and the ship came roaring to life.

“Fighters to your stations!” Allura said, her voice sharp and her orders unquestioningly obeyed. “Get the view screen online.”

The screen burst to life, showing the Resistance fleet gathered around their small Balmera base. Around them, an entire fleet of Galra warships were closing in. There were more starships than Shiro had ever seen in his life and the Galra ships opened their landing bay doors, letting swarms of smaller strike ships join the fray.

“How did they find us?” He whispered.

“They must have tracked the Freedom.” Allura’s voice was grim. “There aren’t many quintessence powered ships in the galaxy. We led them here.”

“Hailing the Resistance Command ship.” A voice broke over their comm system as a broadcast hijacked the Galra ship’s transmission. A man faced the screen, dressed in the armor of a Galra Elite, his face masked behind his helmet. Even then, their enemy was clear. “I’m here to discuss the terms of your surrender, Princess.”

“The Resistance will never surrender.” She blazed with anger, but the Prince waved off her rage carelessly.

“I don’t care about your useless Resistance, Princess, what I want is you. If you give yourself to us, we’ll leave the rest of your fleet in one piece. You can continue your war against my father, all I want is you.” He drawled. “I have need of your assistance.”

“I will never help you!”

“Then I suppose we’ll do this the hard way.” Lotor removed his helmet and the world held its breath as Keith faced his past and his greatest enemy. The white hair and violet skin of a Galra Elite didn’t change that same lazy grin, smug and cruel. The same eyes that glittered with contempt. The worst parts of himself glorified.

Keith looked into the face of his younger self as Lotor’s gaze found him and smiled.

 

* * *

 

_–Begin Recording?—_

_> >Emergency protocols engaged. Try again later._


	29. Chapter 29

_The Prince_.

It was a title Keith had been running from ever since his memories had come crashing back at the hands of the Blades. It was a title associated with wicked pride and deadly confidence, a rebel even among his people but devoted to the Galra cause. He had believed that he was leading them to a new future, a galaxy where everyone shared the same code and the same mechanics, everyone was saved. The war would end and he would be hailed a hero of the Empire.

He’d been so sure of himself. Doubt was never something the son of Zarkon could afford.

But Allura had broken through somehow, showed him the lies filtered through his ego and his pride. She’d opened his eyes to the dangers facing his people, and  _Lotor_ had committed the worst act of betrayal to save them. In the end, they’d all lost anyways. The Prince, the Paladin, the Koryu, the Resistance, and the Galra. And Keith. The name he’d given himself to try and start again, unraveling the knotted damage he’d caused as Lotor.

They were never meant to meet like this. Keith had avoided everywhere his past self had been, but changing the past had changed their paths until they converged like an asteroid into the sun. Irresistible and inevitable.

His past stared down at him, and Keith drew from that Galra pride, keeping his back straight and his expression blank as the voices closed in around him.

_The Prince._

_THE PRINCE._

Rough hands grabbed him and dragged him down as he didn’t resist. Shiro was yelling his name as Allura called for order among the chaos, but they’d seen the face of their greatest enemy standing among them and Keith couldn’t offer them any defense.

_The Prince._

He hadn’t been able to run far enough.  

“Don’t let him infect you.”

“Just shoot him!”

“Take them to the brig, the both of them!”

“Take your hands off of him.” Shiro snarled around a mouth full of fangs, his new Altean prosthetic glowing a dangerous blue. “Don’t touch him!”

“Enough!”

Allura raised her hands, and power coursed through the ship, strong enough to knock down everyone in her range. Her power left her armor tinged with blue. When Keith stood, there were guards ready to restrain him. No one made a move.

On screen, Lotor looked victorious. His gaze was sly, and grin bloodthirsty. “This is my final offer, Princess. The next time you decide to surrender, you will have less of a fleet to save.”

“Burn in hell, Lotor.”

Allura silenced the viewscreen, and immediately summoned another, barking orders even as half of her comm channels refused to respond. “All active agents prepare for immediate attack. Gunners to the rear, heavy artillery in orbit.” Glancing over her shoulder, where the rest of her brig held its breath, she met Keith’s gaze and her eyes narrowed. “Take them away. We’ll deal with this after the battle.”

“Allura wait.” Keith tried to protest, but he was knocked into a wall. Between one instant and the next, there were energy manacles around his wrist, and somewhere Shiro lashed out. His head was spinning, the past and the present racing through his head. The Resistance had been a terrifying enemy at the Paladin’s command. Could they really win?

“Paladin, ground forces on the balmera are taking to the air. Our flank is reinforced,” a dour officer reported.

Suddenly, nothing else mattered.

“Allura! ALLURA!”

He fought against the guards like a wild thing, snarling and snapping and pleading for them to listen. For anyone to listen. They were overwhelmed and outgunned, dragged through the hallways and deep down the ship’s twisting corridors before being thrown into an empty room. A shimmering energy barrier sprung up behind them as Keith lurched to his feet, throwing his weight against the crackling energy to try and force his way through. Acrid smoke curled from his shoulder as flesh burned, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t.

“You have to stop! He’s luring you out, it’s a trap. It’s all a trap!”

The soldiers didn’t listen, sealing his shouts of protest in the room with him.

Shiro was slower to roll to his feet as he tested his new mechanical arm against the strength of the bonds around his wrist. No matter how he pulled, the restraints held. “Keith, stop. They can’t hear you.”

“We have to get out of here!” He whirled towards Shiro with panicked eyes. “You don’t understand, they’re all going to die. This is where they’re defeated, how did I miss it? This is years too early, it’s all falling apart. Shiro i-it’s…it’s falling apart.”

Grief and pain took him, and Keith howled his rage, sliding down to his knees. It was ruined, all of it. Everything they’d sacrificed to stop the war and all the people who depended on them, in one instant, none of it mattered. He’d created himself, piece by piece, stitching together bits of memories, trust, and hope into a new name and a new being. He’d fought to be Keith, the person he'd made over the one he’d been born to.

And now it was gone. He was the Prince, traitor to both sides. He had tried to save them and had ended up just another enemy.

Then Shiro was there, reaching out even with his hands bound, a calming presence in the storm of his thoughts. For a moment, Keith wanted to lash out. Then he sagged against his mate, left docile in his shock.

“Keith, you have to explain. You’re not making any sense.” Shiro urged, confusion taking a backseat to concern.

Keith tried. Everything came loose where they touched. Memories of brutal war and the merciless bite of victory juxtaposed by the guarded naivete of Keith’s first landing on an alien planet. The consequences of it all were laid bare at his feet.

“We knew this sector was Resistance territory for a long time.” He whispered. “I didn’t think- I should’ve known. This was the Mouth. This is how we stopped them the last time.”

“Keith, how?”

“We galvanized the Balmera’s core. When it blew, we only lost drone ships, but the Resistance… I have to warn them.” Keith made to get up, ready to throw himself at the energy barrier once again. Shiro wouldn’t let him leave.

“Not this way, but we’ll find our way out. We’ll stop him.” Shiro insisted, and Keith froze, his heart hammering in his chest as the super weapon within gave a flare of pain. Blood drained from his features, cold seeping into his bones for the second time. He should’ve known. How could he not have known sooner? How could he have missed it so badly?

“You knew.“ 

Shiro nodded, like it was nothing at all, and Keith recoiled like he was slapped. “How- when- for how long?” 

“Since we…since your-” Even bound and captured, Shiro had the good grace to look embarrassed. He swallowed and tried again. “Since your heat. I didn’t mean to see all of your memories, but everything was so intense. Things slipped through.”

Keith felt sick, and turned away to hide his shame. This whole time, he thought Shiro the worst had been their future, that watching himself grow weak, broken and scarred from unending battle had been the reason Shiro had needed time to work through things. Keith hadn’t realized the extent his past had been on display. He’d known Shiro had seen his sins, but he’d worked so hard to leave them behind he could sometimes convince himself that they were gone. “You didn’t tell me.”

“That’s because you didn’t tell  _me_. You weren’t ready to and I wasn’t going to push. When you were ready, you’d tell me in your own time.”

“But I’m the Prince, Shiro!” Keith’s voice broke over the title, a bitter laugh. “I’m the reason for Project Zero, I pushed the Galra Empire’s agenda. I might not have led the assault on your homeworld, but what they did to you I did to others and I was proud of it. I was the thing we’ve been trying to fight this entire time, I’m the reason for all of it. It’s my fault.”

Now, Shiro did move and pulled Keith close as best he could with his wrists tied. The slow steady hum of reassurance and love, still love, beat through them like a heartbeat and Keith didn’t understand how Shiro could accept what he was when Keith himself couldn’t.

“I’m not going to say I wasn’t confused or that it was easy to see those memories. It took some time to come to terms with what they meant and who you were, but I know who you are. You chose to help people, even back then. You decided to change and you made yourself into the man you wanted to be. I can’t absolve you of anything you’ve done in your past, but I know who you are now and that’s the man I love.”

“What if after all of this, I’m still just Lotor?” Keith asked in a small voice and Shiro gently rested his forehead against his mate’s in an unspoken promise.

“We carry our past and we don’t forget, but we are not our past. You can choose what you do from here.”

The words felt too easy. Even deciding felt the same. If Keith couldn’t change the past, he might as well have stayed the Prince.

“Keith… I’m with you.” Resigned but determined, Shiro’s insistence resonated through his bones, and Keith leaned up to kiss him. Just once. They didn’t have time to waste. They had a prison cell they needed to break out of.

No sooner had they pulled apart did the whooshing start, torn somewhere between a crackle and the splash of running water, and they looked around wildly, bracing themselves for the inevitable. Then the electric field flickered and died. The door to their cell opened.

Pidge slipped inside, her face a mask of determination, and Rover closed the door behind them, keeping his face pressed against the door for anyone who might interrupt them. The Quvari met them with a stern stare, arms crossed over her chest, bracing herself, but she hadn’t fallen into a fighting stance just yet. “Is it true?”

It was a question Keith expected, and yet he still wasn’t ready. He hadn’t seen Pidge angry very often. There was a time when he’d marveled at her composure. They weren’t all that different.

“Yes.”

Her eyes narrowed, shoulders tensing. But she was waiting.

Keith silently offered an apology to his mate. Then he changed. His bone structure shifted and reformed, the pallor of his skin darkening, and his hair spilled down his shoulders in white waves. A few years were nothing to the Galra. Keith still looked exactly like the man who’d taunted them across the intercom.

Pidge bristled. “Why didn’t you say anything! To any of us!?”

“Would you have believed me?” Keith drew himself up to his full height, every inch the Galra prince. “Would you have trusted me if I looked like this?”

“Of course not!” She snapped, watching him warily. “You’re Prince Lotor, why would I ever trust you?”

“Then what choice did I have? I didn’t lie about what I was or what I was trying to do. You knew I was Galra, I trusted you with that when I could have told you nothing at all. I needed you to believe me so we could put a stop to my younger self and end the war.” He moved closer as she flinched away, Rover lurching forward to try and protect her. Keith looked over at Shiro, drawing strength from his love’s confidence and trust. Shiro was right, he could do this. “Hate me all you want, I deserve it. But help me save them.”

For the first time, Pidge looked unsure. 

“You don’t actually believe him, do you?” Rover asked.

Shiro stood shoulder to shoulder with his partner, holding his bound hands out to the two Quvari. When he spoke, his voice was soft but full of conviction. “People change. That’s why you took the virus, isn’t it? You believed that not all Galra deserve to die because of their Empire. Everyone can change, even you. Even Lotor.”

“It’s Keith.” He said emphatically, his choice made. “And if you don’t help me, Lotor is going to lure you into a trap and destroy the Resistance fleet. We have to stop him.”

She didn’t look entirely convinced. “How do you know that?”

“Because it’s what I did before.”

The Galra and the Quvari stared each other down in a silent contest of wills before Pidge faltered, uncertainty flashing over her features. Finally, she reached out and tapped a few commands into Keith’s energy bindings. The light holding his wrists flickering out. “You better be right about this.”

Keith grit his jaw but didn’t argue. He was intimately familiar with how much was at stake. Slowly, his features shifted, and he resumed the shape that felt more comfortable than his own skin. “We need to get reinforcements on the Balmera. Lotor is going to send a stealth team down there, and if we don’t cut him off, he’ll carve it open and take the bulk of the Resistance with it.”

“Destabilize a Balmeran core?” Rover frowned, as he undid Shiro’s manacles. “That’s… theoretically I suppose, but that’d be messy. You can’t just...”

“Tell me about it.” Pidge muttered, her expression scrunched up in disapproval. “We need to get to an escape pod. Someone might notice it missing, but in the middle of a fight, no one’s going to care too much. We can get you to a hangar.”

“We have no time to lose.”

Shiro made his way to the door and peered down the hall, his prosthetic glowing with activated quintessence, then he nodded, gesturing for them to move. Pidge took the lead, already planning their route to the hangar, and an alternative one in case they were intercepted.

They got as far as the end of the corridor before the sound of voices caught their attention.

“- knows what the prisoners are capable of. We can’t let them out of our sights.”

They tensed as one, options weighed in seconds, but Rover was the first to move. “I’ll buy you guys time. Get out of here, I’ll catch up.”

Pidge swore but nodded, already moving on. It was Keith who held back, thinking back to a boy who he’d never gotten to meet, but who’d helped shape him all the same.

“Be careful.” He whispered. Rover's look of surprise followed him down the hall.

They raced ahead. Hopefully, Keith would find a way to bring Pidge back to her friend at the end of this. The alternative was unthinkable. Pidge yanked open the door to one of the escape pods and held it open as they piled inside. “I’m programming it to take you to the surface, but after that, it’s up to you.” She said, typing out the commands with swift hands. “I’ll keep them off of you for as long as I can. You better pull this off!”

Her fury made Keith smile and he nodded, hope reignited and beating back the poison from Project Zero as it ate away at his insides. “Deal.”

Pidge huffed and tossed Keith her wrist display. “To keep in touch.” She said shortly before sealing the hatch. The blast of the escape pod’s engines jolted them back into their seats as they shot from the side of the Command ship, the Balmera filling their viewscreen.

Unfamiliar controls sparked in front of him. Even Shiro looked wary. There was nothing like Altean technology. If they’d truly come from the same source, the years had rendered the Galra unrecognizable. Quietly, he thanked Pidge for her assistance though he could never forget this route.

The battle of the Mouth had been his crowning glory, the shattered end of the Resistance and the fall of the Paladin. Not only had he taken Allura and built Project Zero for the Empire, but the remnants of the Resistance were never the same. He’d let them limp along, fighting each other more than they could ever fight the Galra, there was no point in destroying them completely when they were no threat.

“Three minutes to landing. Once we’re on the surface, we need to get down to the core as quickly as we can.” Shiro said, fingers digging into his seat as the escape pod shook violently. 

_I’m with you._

Keith leaned into Shiro. He wouldn’t let this be their last time.

The pod landed with a quiet whoosh in one of the Balmera’s many caverns, not unlike the one he’d once watched Shiro disappear down. The Balmera had been dead then, with a ragged hole blown in its side and a graveyard of broken ships that followed in its orbit like a halo. Back then, scavengers had carved out temporary ramshackle homes in crumbling tunnels, swarming the dead Balmera like an infection. In Keith’s start, this had been his first step into the larger world, the first time he’d seen the way the galaxy had been rotting from the inside, and the broken heroes who struggled to save it.

It all started here. The beginning of the end of everything.

“Come on, we have to beat Lotor to the core.” He mumbled. It took him a beat to realize that Shiro wasn’t following him. When he turned, the Koryu was looking back the way he’d come, his eyes wide with a brutal sort of reverence.

The sky above the Balmera was filled with light, caught ablaze in the fire fight. The departed sank like falling stars, and the more stubborn burned beyond gravity’s reach. It was the first battle of this scale that Shiro had ever seen, and part of him was surprised by how there was still so much that could catch him off-guard.

“Let’s go,” Shiro said at length. It almost sounded like an apology, but Keith felt like he was the one who should have been sorry.

If it keeping the skies over Koryusai clear only meant spending his life, Shiro decided it was a worthy trade.

Together, they plunged into the darkness of the Balmera.

 

* * *

 

 

The shadows crept in around them, cut only by Pidge’s wrist device and the white flickers that glowed where they stepped. They chased energy pulses so thick Keith could almost feel it in his wiring. Then between one breath and another, the endless caverns glowed, and an eerie light spilled from jagged crystals.

It felt like the ground beneath their feet was humming. The Balmerans said that they could communicate with the living creatures that formed their homes, speaking through the rock and crystal to each other and to the Balmera itself. In his past, Hunk had managed it as well. This one was too young to have its own population of permanent Balmerans yet, but for the first time, Keith could feel  _something_. Some sort of energy, a whisper right on the edges of his consciousness that spoke in a language he couldn’t understand. He looked at Shiro and saw his partner cock his head to listen, catching the same sound.

“It’s almost like-” Shiro started, but then shook his head. “Do you remember the way?”

The panic was back, failure looming behind Keith like a hungry shadow that was ready to swallow them whole. Doubt screamed in his ear.  _This was a mistake. I can’t remember, we’ll never stop him. We’ll never make it in time!_  A heavy hand on his shoulder steadied him along with a rush of trust and confidence.

Shiro was there at his side where he’d promised to be. They could do this. They had to.

With a deep breath, Keith closed his eyes and reached out like Shiro had taught him, asking with his thoughts instead of his words in the Koryu way. He wasn’t a Balmeran but he could have sworn he felt something pause, a spark of slow, enormous curiosity that reached out to touch his mind gently, but deafening.

“This way.” Keith said with certainty, taking off down one of the crystal-studded tunnels. “Keep heading down.”

They ran and ran. Keith knew that only a small party had been brought to the planet’s surface. Stealth had been their priority. The caverns were long and winding, and at the end was a flickering light, dimmer than the crystals that lit their path.

Keith still wasn’t ready for the chill that crept through his skull, the crackle of a transmitting signal.

“Drones,” he rasped. A pair silhouetted against the dim, as still as stone. Keith could feel their master’s unshakable hold.

Shiro didn’t stop. His prosthetic crackled with power. He buried it in the closest drone’s face before it could raise its weapon. Keith was there to shatter its partner’s breastplate.

More spilled out of the adjacent hallway. One, two, three… half a dozen. Keith counted them, his heart in his throat, trying to remember how many could fit on a single shuttle. He hadn’t been caught back then, but he still remembered the fear of it, remembered how important every precaution had been.

Then a laser blast sailed past his head, so close the heat singed his skin. A new enemy stood in the passageway, a figure he hadn’t seen in years.

_General Acxa._

“Go!” Shiro didn’t stop as his Altean arm flared to life. Purified blue quintessence burned through the metal like circuitry until the metal glowed as well and Keith felt his gut twist at how similar it was to its corrupted brother that had once eaten away through his love’s flesh. He brushed fingertips against Shiro’s arm as the Koryu raced passed, sharing a brief burst of memories.

Fighting styles. Strengths. Weaknesses.  _Vulnerabilities_.

He’d trained with Acxa for years, back when they both thought they could save the galaxy. It passed to Shiro in a flash and he let his body absorb the images, memory sinking into his bones and becoming instinct. When the General moved, Shiro had already rolled in anticipation of her strike. He swept beneath her, whirling around to knock her legs out from under her. She fell, catching herself in a graceful flip, but Shiro had lifted a heavy boulder and had thrown it with all of his strength. There wasn’t time to dodge and Acxa went down.

Keith attacked with Shiro, the two moving in tandem guided by unspoken words and emotions shared with quick touches as they struck and parried. They lured Acxa closer only to strike back, mirrored images that flowed together. Shiro’s pride vibrated through Keith’s chest as he shared his own combat training, the blending of two warriors into a single unstoppable force.

Until a blast caught Shiro in the back, knocking him down. He only just managed to block it, letting his arm absorb the brunt of it. Acxa was on him in an instant, ready to push her advantage, and Shiro grappled for his life. A dark shadow fell across the hall, his blaster still radiant. The Prince.

“GO!” Shiro yelled, fangs bared viciously. “Stop him!”

Keith wouldn’t let Lotor hurt anyone else. He lunged, his own blaster raised in attack, weaving between each shot like a wraith. Behind Lotor’s helmet, Keith could see his younger self snarl, and he braced for attack. He didn’t expect Keith to push off against the closest wall, using his momentum to propel him through the air, and  _over_ Lotor’s head. Then Keith kept running, desperate to get to the device that could destroy them all.

For the first time, the Prince seemed off-balance. Keith savored it.

Laser fire streaked towards him and Keith threw himself to the side, but Lotor hadn’t been shooting at him. The ceiling groaned as rocks broke free and Keith barely managed to keep himself from being crushed. He rolled hard, slamming his shoulder against the ground and inhaling sharping as pain radiated along his side. Just a little further, he had to get to the core and disable the device.

“You really think I’d let you stop me?” His own voice taunted Keith as Lotor holstered his blaster and drew his sword, the edge of the blade glowing a blinding violet. Lotor brought the weapon down, cleaving through the rocks with one smooth stroke as Keith dodged to safety. “You insult me by wearing that form.”

“I think it’s the other way around.” Keith snarled as he lept back again, Lotor cutting a smoking swath with his blade. “I can’t let you do this.”

“And who are you to stop me?”

“I’m  _you_ , you selfish idiot!” Frustration and self-loathing rose in Keith’s throat as he faced off against the embodiment of all his past mistakes. How had Allura found the patience to change him when the only thing in Lotor’s eyes was contempt? “I know what you’re planning and it fails. Project Zero puts the Empire at risk, you lose!”

“And what, you’re a vision of the future come to warn me?’ Lotor said mockingly, but his eyes were bright with badly hidden surprise. “More like a little Resistance trick, finding one of their useless Blades to try and take my shape.”

“I’ll prove it to you if you let me. You have to stop this!”

Lotor rushed into him, sending Keith sprawling against the ground crushed beneath the Prince’s weight. “Oh, I will make sure you tell me all your secrets.”

Light, he was such an asshole.

Keith reached out blindly, his ears flattened against his head. His hand closed around a crystal, and he brought it down on Lotor’s helmet with all the force he could muster. The Prince gasped, cracks spilling across his visor. Then there was that push, that strange enormous interest. Something heavy surged beneath Keith, pushing him off the floor.

In the next breath they were both flying through the air, a large Balmeran crystal where they’d been. The entire cavern rumbled.

Lotor hit the ground hard, and Keith rushed up to him, kicking his sword off the ground and catching it with practiced ease. Lotor was not familiar being on its receiving end, and Keith inhaled deeply, his chest rattling with adrenaline. He kicked Lotor in the face, and didn’t want to think about why that felt so damn good.

In the distance, he could still hear Shiro and Acxa battling. Now was his chance. Keith charged at the detonation device, deftly deactivating it with memories that finally felt sweet and breaking it into pieces. It crumbled in his hands, and Lotor raged.

“NO!”

Something heavy smashed into Keith’s face and blood filled his mouth, choking and metallic. Something broke in his chest and fire spilled through Keith’s veins.  _Not now, please not now!_  He begged, but there was no stopping Project Zero as it seared through his ribs. Keith thought he might have been screaming, but he couldn’t tell through the pain.

Lotor beat him into the dirt, his perfect face twisted with rage. He reached behind Keith’s neck, tearing flesh and metal with his hands until he exposed the circuitry beneath. “Who. Are. You?” Each word was clipped between Lotor’s fangs, the perfect mask of control stripped away as he forced a connection, overriding Keith’s severed connection to the Galra network.

The Prince’s eyes went wide and they both gasped.

It had been so long since Keith had felt the touch of the hivemind, the rush of billions connected through a single purpose. There was no room for doubt or hesitation, the collective smoothed away any inconvenient individuality that would threaten the might of the Galra Empire. It was even alluring to an Elite, that absolute certainty and control to lead an army with a single thought. It clashed with the pain in his chest, burning out his circuits in the rush. But through their connection, the truth was laid bare.

“How is this possible!?”

Keith couldn’t speak. His chest turned to flame. The pain coursed through him, tearing through circuitry and tissue without prejudice. Consciousness slipped through his fingers, and he desperately tried to hold on. He didn’t fight Lotor’s touch, didn’t felt the connection reestablish, but there was nothing he could do stop it.

“Project Zero.” The prince whispered the words. Desperate hunger flashed across Lotor’s face and Keith remembered that ugly need for power and approval.

“You don’t understand...” Keith croaked, but Lotor wasn’t interested in his warnings. His younger self was reckless, utterly convinced that this path was right. The only way to get what he wanted was to create the weapon to end everything and to do that, he needed access to ancient Altean technology to twist and corrupt into something that had the power to end everything. Lotor’s goal had been Allura, the only one who had access to this ancient lost knowledge.

Now she wasn’t the only one. 

Keith betrayed everything with a thought and Lotor laughed.

“Keith!”

Shiro’d forced Acxa back, left her unmoving on the edge of the hall. His face was painted in blood, an open gash spilling crimson from his brow to the curve of his jaw. He still took off running towards them. The shots flew over Lotor’s back before clipping him in the shoulder. The Prince gasped in pain as Keith seized the advantage, grabbing the sword from the Prince’s hand and throwing his captor off. He slashed, sending a spray of purple blood to stain the floor of the Balmera.

Lotor stumbled backwards, his teeth bared. He stole one last glance at Keith who was clutching his chest and watched his future drop to their knees in agony.

“Tell the Princess she’s become obsolete.” Lotor panted with a bloody smile. 

With a shout, Acxa attacked Shiro behind. They clashed violently, the bright glow from Shiro’s arm illuminating the General’s blood streaked face. Keith tried to stand, fighting with his body to get to Shiro. Anything to help him! Light spilled through his fingers as the skin on his chest smoked and burned, and Keith doubled over in pain.

The last thing he heard was Lotor’s laughter ringing in his ears.

He woke to muted noise and the sound of arguing, but his thoughts were too hazy to understand any of it. His tongue felt thick and the smell of burned flash made his stomach roil. It took too long to realize that he recognized the loudest of the voices.

“-saved your lives  _again_. Lotor had rigged an explosion to destroy the Balmera’s core and wipe out your fleet, if Keith was with them, why would he risk everything to save you? He’s dying, you have to do something!”

“You broke out of custody and-”

“TO SAVE YOU! How much more do you want from him?” Shiro snarled. 

Keith made to sit up, but he never got that far. A wave of dizziness washed over him. As he struggled with his balance, a gentle hand pushed him back into the smooth surface of the operating table.

Shiro was the first one he saw, and everything just felt a little bit easier.

“Lo-” Keith’s throat rumbled, desert dry. His eyelids drooped with every passing moment, but he fought every one of his instincts, determined to stay awake.

“For Light’s sake, move.” Allura snapped, pushing through the thrall to get to Keith. Her expression was stern enough to dismiss most war-weary commanders, but when she caught his eye, a strained smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Keith sighed. There was a flare of something in his chest, a steady weight like a thick belt settling over his ribs. The heat didn’t disappear, but it felt more bearable somehow.

His mate reached out, soothing him more deeply than any balm could, and Keith let himself be moved, propped up on soft pillows that must have been added for his comfort. Shiro offered him a glass of water. He took it readily, content to focus on him instead of the disapproving figures of the Resistance’s council.

“Lotor…?”

“Lotor got away,” She said, in a tone imbued with a quiet confidence that was meant to carry. “But we survived as well. It seems we have you to thank for it.”

“We tried to tell you that before.” 

Keith had never heard Shiro so angry, the air between the Koryu and the Princess crackled with barely restrained rage.

Allura held her hands out for peace, standing between her people and Shiro. “You have more than proved yourselves to the Resistance.”

“You can’t be serious!” The gathered forces behind her started arguing, Resistance and Marmora representatives squabbling over their fate, but Allura was tired of the disagreements. Now was the time for action and she’d put her trust in their two strange allies long ago.

“Enough!” Her voice was harsh and a stunned silence fell around her as she exercised her command. “They have saved us all and deserve no less than our absolute respect. They are welcome as part of our Resistance and we pledge our forces to help. Is that understood?”

There was a quiet murmur of reluctant agreement, no one willing to speak out against their Paladin.

Keith gasped, sucking a wet breath into his lungs that rattled with broken bits of metal and fragmented bone. Black scorch marks scored his skin, spreading outwards from where Project Zero consumed him. There wasn’t much time left, they had to end this before it killed him and there was no one left who could destroy it.

One more battle.

One last hope.

“Lotor said...” Keith rasped, blood spilling passed his lips. “He found another source of quintessence tech. He’s going to send his fleet and take what he needs to build his Project Zero.” Keith couldn’t look at Shiro, but he felt the sudden shock as his partner stiffened, body taut in anguish. He closed his eyes as Shiro whispered the word.

“Koryusai.”

 

* * *

 

The bridge was almost empty. It was a rare moment of peace, one Allura had fought hard for, and yet she couldn’t seem to relax.

“Koryusai.” She murmured, testing the word tentatively. The syllables were different, made silvery by a foreign tongue. Their letters were different, as were their choice of emphasis, but Allura could still recognize it, as if thousands of years hadn’t separated them. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that name. Remember, our old lessons? You had such lovely charts, and all I wanted to do was sword fight.”

Her advisor was quiet, calm in a way their colleagues would swear he couldn’t be. Allura never corrected them. It was Coran’s choice to make. He shook his head, mouth hard beneath that magnificent mustache. “No one would’ve expected it. The great scholars would’ve - well, at another time, they would’ve wished a reunion.”

“But not like this?” Allura smiled wanly. There was a lot she suspected her superiors would’ve done differently, but they weren’t here anymore. “What is it about our history, Coran that deserves… Doesn’t bear repeating?”

Coran was quiet for a moment longer. “The road to peace is not always a kind one, Princess.”

“It seems all we find are more reasons to apologize.”

Coran frowned, but he didn’t disagree. “Are you sure about this, Princess?”

It took Allura by surprise, startling her out of her reverie. “Of course! Whatever happens we’re not - we’re not who they were.”  
  
And today, they continued to prove they weren’t the Galra as well. She typed a command on the console, bringing up a holovid. “Just… remember what I asked you to find?”

“Yes, Princess. A few more minutes is all I need.” Then Coran cracked a grin, it was small and tired, and more honest than he usually allowed himself to be. “You’re going to be great.”

When Allura turned back to the holovid, she was smiling.

_–Begin Recording?—_

_> >Yes_

“I am Paladin Allura, of the Resistance. For years, we have been locked in a war that I know many of you still struggle to believe exists, but today I tell you, the threat is real. The Galra are real.”

She took a breath, bracing herself, and when she looked up there was steel in her gaze. “The Galra challenge all that is brave and true in our galaxy. They will tear us down and strip us of all that we hold dear. Our will, our individuality, our  _defiance_. They are gathering now, to develop a weapon that will change the face of this war forever. This is our last chance to stop them.”

She faced the screen, image broadcast to every communications device across the galaxy. It was unsecured and they’d spent so long hiding the identity of their Paladin, but the time for secrecy was over. “It would be easy to give up or to hide. Our enemy is frightening and powerful. They want to play us against each other to keep us divided as they pick us off one by one and unless we unite, they will win. There will be nowhere that’s safe from this weapon, nowhere to run.”

She flared with energy, beautiful and defiant and blazing with fury.  “But there is hope. We have the choice to say no! We can resist their advance, planet by planet and show them who we are. We will stand before the hordes and refuse to hand over our lives. These are our cultures, our homes, and we will not give up. We must come together and defend  _our_  galaxy from the ones who want to erase us completely. Rise up against the Galra. We will not give up, the Coalition needs you.”

“The galaxy needs you.”

_–End Recording—_


	30. Chapter 30

There was never enough time.

They’d crossed the galaxy, gained allies, lost friends, clung to each other as they railed against the unfairness of war. Keith had watched Shiro waste away, eaten alive by poison until his mind was gone, and now Shiro was watching it happen all over again as the one left behind. Keith had ended the entire galaxy, tearing open time itself to rewrite the past, but there was  _still_  never enough.

The agony was his constant companion now, his chest full of melted slag and shorted circuitry. Shiro was with him through the screaming hours, hands digging into the sheets of their sweat-soaked bed, light spilling from the ragged breaks between his ribs. Still, Keith wouldn’t let anyone take Project Zero from him, not until they could destroy it. He would hold it as long as he could and hope that it was enough. Besides, there was no guarantee that removing it would even save him anymore.

Past and present blended in his fevered dreams, memories distorted into nightmares. Hunk rose from a pile of broken drone corpses, face half torn with ragged metal beneath. Chet woke in his healing tube, screaming his name. Melemauna in flames, the planet cracking and bursting into pieces like the Mouth. His own hand around Shiro’s neck, smiling as he pressed his nails into the back of Shiro’s spine and watched the Koryu’s eyes bleed yellow.

“Come on, young man. Enough of that.”

There was something cool against his brow. The chill spread across his skull and down his nape. Keith tried to move away, his parched throat struggling to form protests, but he couldn’t find the strength.

“I know, I know. It’ll be over soon.”

The words tumbled together, an unintelligible murmur Keith couldn’t begin to process, and he was so tired of fighting.

“Okay, I think he’s as ready as he can be. Try it again.”

Something was moving above him. Then Keith gasped. The memories dispelled, replaced instead with an open chasm. Beneath him were jagged, dangerous rocks, but Keith’s feet swung over their edge, completely unfazed by the risk. Overhead was a splatter of familiar stars. Keith wasn’t sure how they could be so familiar when he had only seen them once. Yet they were safe, and they were welcoming.

When Keith opened his eyes, Shiro was there, gently dabbing at his brow with a damp cloth. His smile was shaky, but it was still the loveliest Keith had ever seen.

“Heard that,” Shiro teased.

“Fascinating.” Another voice interjected. Over Shiro’s shoulder, Keith caught an impressive flare of bright hair. The Paladin’s second-in-command. Coran, twirled his mustache contemplatively. “That seems to have done the trick. You know, quasiorganic pathology used to be an entire subsection of medicine back when- well. Enough of that now.”

Coran cleared his throat.

“How long…” Keith started, and Shiro pressed a cool glass of water into his hand. He helped him hold it.

“Just a few hours. You missed Pidge. She’s got an update, and she’s glad you’re resting.”

_Resting._  Keith grumbled darkly. Sure. That was a word for it.

It wasn’t fair. Keith wasn’t ready to die, there was too much to do and too many people counting on him. Shiro had accepted his death with a grace Keith didn’t even try to replicate, he couldn’t. He was too damn stubborn to know when to let go. Keith gulped the water and grabbed for Shiro, forcing himself to stand on wobbly legs. Pain set his teeth on edge, but he ground his jaw and swallowed it down.

“I should find Pidge. I need to know where she is on the virus.”

Shiro didn’t try to stop him and Keith was grateful, leaning into his partner’s strength like he could borrow it. “She’ll meet us later. We’re preparing to drop out of hyperspace.”

They made their way through the Resistance Command ship as soldiers rushed around them. Chaos swept them along as the final battle preparations went underway, but they moved slowly and deliberately, a small island of calm in the maelstrom. They didn’t need to shout over the noise, everything they had to say was shared in the soft thoughts passed between them, intimate and private. Keith couldn’t help but smile.

Allura stood in the center of the bridge, directing the swirl of activity around her with a deft hand. She gave brisk orders and hopeful words, and everyone she touched carried a spark of inspiration. The Paladin was remarkable. With Allura still guiding the Resistance, they really did have a chance.

When the viewscreen cleared, Keith froze and felt Shiro stiffen beside him. Koryusai stood before them. It was beautiful, dusty colored with patches of bright blue and deep green, while thick white clouds swirled overhead. They were still too far away to pick out the individual domed cities that dotted across its ruined landscape, but Keith felt the emotion swell inside of him.  _Home_.

He was surprised to realize that the feeling was his own. They’d traipsed through space for over a year, a deadline hanging over their heads like a noose. Somehow, this place that had haunted his dreams in every timeline had become a symbol of comfort and safety. 

“We’re back.” Shiro whispered, like Shiro was worried it could all slip away. His hope was blindly sweet, and Keith helped him bear it.

Then Keith saw them. Three, large hulking ships of unmistakable design. Galra cruisers orbited the planet, and Keith’s knees went weak. A rush of disbelief, and willful ignorance swelled up between them, but when he caught Allura’s eye, he knew she must have seen the same.

The Paladin offered her condolences without a word, and turned to the communicator, ready to give the order to battle.

“Paladin, we’re getting an incoming transmission.” Coran croaked.

“Put it on the main screen.”

Keith braced himself for the worst.

“This is Captain Hiratoshi of the Interstellar Garrison. You are in Koryusai airspace. Stand down immediately, or we will fire in accordance with the Galactic Coalition Spacefaring Treaty.”

Keith felt the shock rocket beside of him and before Allura could reply, Shiro had pushed himself forward. He stared at the view screen with wide eyes before croaking out, “ _Captain_.”

The older Koryu’s salt-and-pepper ears twitched, and she frowned so hard that Shiro flinched. Surprise and disapproval radiated from her as Shiro pulled himself up, shoulders thrown back to stand at attention before her. “Takashi Shirogane, can you please explain to me why you’re entering Koryu space with a fleet of warships before we blow you out of the sky?”

“Yes, ma’am. Uh.” Shiro swallowed hard and tried to gather himself, completely unprepared to face down his former captain. “Koryusai is under threat, the Galra… these organic and synthetic beings are coming to invade our home. I brought people who can help.”

Keith could have sworn the woman smiled. “That’s something we’ve known for months, Shirogane. Your brother brought back this ship and survivors from one of the Galra attacks. We managed to build our defenses with their technology while he has been developing a biological deterrent.” Captain Hiratoshi hesitated briefly before speaking again. “You were the first one to sound the warning, we should have listened.”

“Thank you.” He managed, his voice rough, and wishing they were using Koryu communication where he could touch the emotions of his Captain and read everything unspoken.

“Captain Hiratoshi,” Allura reclaimed her attention with a gentle push. “I am Paladin Allura of the Resistance. We stand with Koryusai.”

“Welcome, Paladin. We’re glad for any help we can get. Is there anything you require?”

Allura shot Shiro a quick glance, but before he could begin to piece it together, she moved on. “I’m afraid so. A few of us - Keith, Shiro and myself - would like permission to disembark. For reasons I’d rather disclose in person, we urgently need land transport. The fastest you can provide.”

Captain Hiratoshi frowned, looking between Allura and her subordinate before reaching her decision. “Very well, I’m going to clear you to land, and Shirogane?” Now she did smile, still stern but with a fond sense of pride. “Welcome back.”

As Shiro walked back to him, his eyes suspiciously glassy and color high on his cheeks, Keith realized that if nothing else changed, he’d at least managed to win his friend this moment. It had been worth fighting for.

 

* * *

 

The Freedom welcomed them like an old friend, and the warmth in Keith’s veins had nothing to do with the curse in his chest. A small group gathered in the hangar to see them off. Coran had Allura tucked under his chin. He would coordinate the troops in her absence.

Gentle arms wrapped around him from behind, and suddenly Shiro was burying his face in his hair, squeezing so tightly Keith thought he would pop. He laughed.

“We made it, we really…” Shiro trailed off, but their connection thrummed with overlapping sentiments. They left Keith fuzzy, like he was rolling in cotton, and he pulled Shiro’s hand close to kiss his knuckles, smooth metal cool against his lips.

“I’m dating a hero. Feels good.” Keith mumbled, and he felt Shiro laugh against him, his delight a soothing balm over his frayed senses.

“It comes with a lot of perks.”

Shiro was teasing now, spinning Keith like they didn’t have a care in the galaxy, bending him over his arm and-

“Ew, can you guys not?” Pidge groaned. Her hair was windswept and clothes wrinkled. Rover showed up not two seconds later, panting, and immediately keeled over.

“Do you know how  _far_ the research lab is?”

“Maybe you need to invent longer legs.” Shiro grinned as Pidge scowled irritably and handed a small mobile drive to Keith.

“You’re gonna need this. Rover and I spent the last few weeks modifying the code from the virus you brought me. It was…I’ve never seen anything like it.” For a moment, she seemed a little overwhelmed, unsure of how her future self had managed to unravel such a mystery and a little proud of herself. “Coran helped us too, he let us run scans on his DNA. Allura saw it all… I think we’ve managed it. I-I think, I think it’ll work.”

Keith closed his hand around the drive gently, its significance not lost on him. “Thank you, Pidge. For everything.”

Pidge adjusted her glasses as Rover shot them both a grin. “There’s no telling how it’ll work with Project Zero, but if your little doomsday device really could have broadcast the Galra infection into everyone all at once, then it should work with this too.”

“I knew you’d figure it out.” Shiro said gently. “Are you ready for…?”

No one knew how long it would take the Galra to arrive, but they all assumed it would be soon.

Pidge nodded. “We’ll be on the BC Zion.”

“Not all ships run like this one. Some actually need tech support,” Rover joked.

Then Pidge lurched forward, pulling Keith into a hug so tight, it was like she wanted to crush his ribs. “Come back, okay?” She whispered, words pressed into the spot over his heart. Keith’s throat clenched.

“We’ll do everything we can.”

It was all they could promise.

Allura came up beside them to say her goodbyes. Then the Quvari watched them board. They waited long after the doors of the Freedom closed. Keith put a hand over his chest, feeling Project Zero flare and burn beneath his ribs. Even after all they’d lost, they still had friends willing to take up their cause. This time, he wouldn’t let them fall.

“C’mon, we don’t want to make your Captain wait.”

The bridge was just as they’d left it. Familiarity stirred a warm rush of affection. Keith dropped gracefully into the co-pilot’s chair. He didn’t look behind him, didn’t acknowledge the way Shiro hesitated, but when Shiro settled behind the controls, a touch of awe softened his features. The Freedom reacted to him just as quickly as it always had.

“All right everyone, strap in. Prepare for lift off.”

Through the intercom, Coran’s voice was soft and stern. “Freedom, you are ready for takeoff. May we shine.”

The hangar doors opened, and as Koryusai filled their screen, Keith felt his heart soar. They were home.

A fleet of Koryusai vehicles waited for them on the tarmac. For a moment, Keith worried, remembering the first time he’d been welcomed into Resistance space and how chilly Matt’s entourage had been. Yet as the Freedom opened, no guns were raised. Keith realized he could  _feel_ them. Clear and precise, subtle in ways he’d been too overwhelmed to notice before, a quiet collective murmur of disbelief and awe, and when Captain Hiratoshi arrived, Shiro was immediately pulled into a brusque hug. He  _melted._

“You are such an idiot, Shirogane.” She scolded as she released him, but she smiled to take the sting out of her words. “I think you’ll find you’re a little bit more welcome at the Garrison than you were when you stole the Freedom.”

“I didn’t-”

“TAKASHI!” Shiro went ridged as his name echoed around the tarmac and a heavy figure slammed into him with a burst of excitement and worry and such overwhelming relief that Shiro felt tears prickle in his eyes.

“Ryou!”

His brother grasped him by the shoulders and gave him a shake. “I was so worried, we haven’t heard anything from you in so long. I shouldn’t have left you alone up there.”

“I-I’m okay. We made it back, I brought them all to help. We’re going to be okay.” The words caught in his throat as he gave a shaky laugh. “We did it, Ryou.”

“I never doubted you for a second. Okay, maybe  _half_  second, but I knew you’d come home again.” Ryou beamed, his ears poofed out happily. He looked over at Keith and raised a single eyebrow before turning back to his brother. “And I see you still have your taste in aliens. Nice to see you again, Keith.”

“You too, Ryou.” He extended his hand, but found himself yanked into the hug. Koryu always were so touchy. He felt the way Ryou braced as they touched, but humor poured through them.

_No more screaming?_

_I’ve been practicing_. Keith answered, hoping that his embarrassment didn’t wind its way through their connection.

No such luck. He still couldn’t lie to a Koryu, and Ryou thrilled with delight. It lasted for a moment. Then he took in what Keith hadn’t meant to share. The fatigue, the uncertainty, the guilt. Ryou stole a glance at his brother, noting the way he carried himself. Keith couldn’t gauge his thoughts by the emotions he revealed, but he noticed their absence in how Ryou shielded them.

“Enough of that, Shirogane. Reunions can wait. We have more pressing issues to attend to.” Captain Hiratoshi interrupted. “Besides… we have a guest.”

Her eyes darted behind them, to the person that the rest of the Garrison barely kept from ogling. The regal dignity of Allura’s stance marked her presence just as much as the etchings on her armor. Shiro all but jumped to make introductions.

“Captain Hiratoshi, this is Paladin Allura of the Resistance Coalition. She… We couldn’t have done this without her.”

The Captain took it all in stride, pressing Allura’s hand to her wrist in greeting. Allura mimicked the gesture. “Whatever you did out there, there’s a lot of people willing to help us.” Captain Hirotoshi said softly. “Thank you both, and you Paladin Allura. We’re honored you would defend us.”

“The honor is ours, Captain.” Allura offered the Koryu a small bow. “The Resistance stands ready, but I’m afraid, we have to get going. We believe we have the means to turn this war in our favor.”

“The super weapon,” Captain Hiratoshi acknowledged. Keith’s first appearance hadn’t been forgotten.

Allura nodded. “Koryusai has the means to manipulate quintessence. We leave for these coordinates immediately.”

She held out her wrist device, but only the Captain was provided a complete look. She frowned.

“Paladin, this isn’t far out of the city, but I know this area. There’s nothing there.”

“Not unless you know where to look.”

That did nothing to quell the Koryu’s doubt. Suddenly, Captain Hiratoshi’s tablet let out a shrill beep. They all turned to see a pale-faced Koryu appear on screen, alongside flashing diagrams of a dozen other ships. “Captain, more unknowns approaching. Battle stations at the ready.”

“Allura… are those ours?” Keith squinted at the ragtag group of ships that circled the planet. Converted cargo planes, city ships, swarms of fighters. More and more appeared out of hyperspace.

On her wrist device, Allura pulled up a communicator, and Coran’s face filled the screen immediately. “Coran, incoming. Initiate contact, but brace for attack.”

Yet he’d barely patched the signal through when a soft, slow laugh echoed through the small speaker.

“I was concerned that we’d found the wrong planet.” A battle-scarred face and a wicked smile flickered unto screen. “How much  _does_  a diplomat’s ransom go for?”

Captain Hiratoshi straightened, her ears perked, anger and dread just barely leashed, but Shiro barreled into her with a gasp.

“Captain Mardon?!”

The Unilu pirate smiled with too much teeth. “Looks like you’re worth more than a tall-tale, boys.”

Keith couldn’t believe his eyes. “You… You’re here.”

“We had a deal.” She turned, meeting Keith’s gaze directly. “I expect you to honor it.”

“I promise.” Keith murmured, and beside him, Shiro tensed. Captain Mardon nodded once, her expression stern, but when she noticed Allura in the corner, her smirk settled back into place.

“Paladin. Your reputation precedes you. Where do you want our ships?”

Allura made to reply, but Coran interrupted them both, his expression uncharacteristically solemn. “Paladin, two of our lookouts have stopped transmitting. Captain Mardon, if possible, we would like to mobilize your ships immediately.”

Allura’s hands balling into fists, and Keith could feel his heart plummet. Connected as he was, he could feel the way every Koryu in the area braced themselves, reaching out for friends and colleagues, a rush of adrenaline and dread coursing through his veins. It was almost like the hivemind he’d known for most of his life, but unlike the Galra, the Koryu offered reassurances to each and every one of them. Every voice was different. Every one was unique. Every one of them was still ready to fight.

“The Galra are here.” Allura announced.

Captain Hiratoshi gently placed a hand on her shoulder, and stepped forward to call order. She spoke in the lilting accents of a foreign language, but Keith could finally pick out its words. What he didn’t understand still resonated through their audience, calling for bravery.

_“This is not our way. This was not what we dreamed of when we reached for the stars. But we’ve prepared for this moment. You all know your tasks… Our people were survivors long before we were anything else, and there is no enemy that we will let tear us down.”_

A roar rose through the room, and Keith found himself screaming with them. The calm shattered into a thousand pieces, and every Koryu was moving at once. Keith caught snippets of conversations, pleading for evacuations, defenses, and battle. Shiro clapped him on the shoulder, and Keith knew he would give everything he could to make sure this world survived.

“Captain. Incoming hyperdrive,” one of her subordinate called out, just as a section of her map flashed red. The first Galra ships appeared a second later. The Resistance fleet immediately opened fire, and one by one, the newcomers disappeared on screen, but not all of them. They would not stop, rushing like bullets through the fleet formations. Keith noticed a minute too late that they weren’t trying to hit anyone, weren’t trying to reach the planet even.

“Something’s wrong-”

He gasped.

On screen, a Galra ship exploded. A suicide run. It took down every Resistance ship in its vicinity.

“Coran!” Allura screamed into her communicator, the device picking up chaos and static. “Coran, come in?”

“We’re here, Princess. Beta is reporting mass casualties, Epsilon isn’t reporting. I’m trying to reform the lines.” Coran’s voice came back, frantic and distracted. “The Galra fleet is here!”

Explosions bloomed over the city of Shiro, bright enough to be seen in the daylight as broken pieces from the destroyed Resistance ships slipped into the atmosphere. Streaks of fire burned like falling stars as the alarms blared over the tarmac. Shiro was the first one to shake himself out of his horror.

“If there’s any remaining civilians, they need to be evacuated down into the old maintenance tunnels away from the fighting. Tell the other cities to prepare for a ground incursion in case the Resistance fighters can’t hold them all back.” He had left his home a hopeful, naïve pilot and had returned a battle-worn leader. Captain Hiratoshi gave him a look mixed with sadness and pride before clapping her hands and echoing his orders. “Paladin, if you have business in the desert, you need to go, now. Remember the way to the hangar, Shirogane?”

“I’m going with you.” Ryou said, standing beside his brother and looking so stubborn, they might have been twins.

Shiro stared him down, something like regret across his features. When he reached out, it was with his prosthetic, and part of him reveled in the intentional way his brother refused to react. “I need you here, to help with the evacuations,” he whispered. “And if we don’t make it, I need you to make sure that as many people as possible get off this planet.”

“Takashi.” Hurt bled through Ryou’s tone, like Shiro had twisted a knife deeper with every word, but as his brother pulled him in, he went willingly. Shiro rested his forehead against his brother’s, everything coming out in a mournful sigh. He hadn’t even said goodbye to his parents. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen them.

“Please Ryou.”

“You don’t need to protect me.”

“I know.”

Shiro didn’t expect Ryou’s anger or his frustration, but he took it all in stride, letting it wash against him, just as he let Ryou see the same through his eyes. When they pulled away, it was quietly. One more goodbye. They desperately hoped it wouldn’t be their last.

“Go.” Ryou gave Shiro a shove and gave Keith a solemn nod, his meaning clear.  _Take care of him._  Keith could not agree more. Together, they raced behind Allura as the first ships started to descend through Koryusai’s atmosphere.

There was a military-grade hovercraft waiting for them, polished and gassed and ready to fly. It sacrificed defense for mobility, but that was exactly the sort of ship Shiro and Keith thrived in.

“Keith, hold on to me,” Shiro pleaded, kicking the hovercraft into gear, fastening a helmet to his head. Keith twined his arms around his waist, just as Allura settled in behind him. She placed a steadying hand on his side, a solid weight that Keith didn’t have to worry slumping against.

“How fast can you get us there?” Allura asked. Keith felt Shiro’s hesitation, his worry. He felt his resolve.

“Faster if we go through the city.”

There was a pause, so minute it could never have happened, but rich enough that dread filled it to the brim. Allura pulled out her laser blaster, set it to charge. Keith did the same.

“No matter what happens, don’t stop.”

The streets were mostly empty as the population hunkered down, but the shimmering dome above them shuddered, its power disrupted by the roar of engines as ships began to land. “They’ll drop drones first, they’re always the shock troops.” Keith said breathlessly as they wound their way to the Garrison airfield. “They’ll subdue the population before they start taking prisoners.”

“They can try.” Shiro snarled, voice clear through Keith’s helmet. He would not stand by and watch his people die, not like this. Somewhere in some other future, he hadn’t been here to stand against this attack. The Galra had taken everything and wiped his people from existence, that would never happen again.

An explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet as one of the ships fired. They twisted to see energy blasts sear through one of the tall buildings in the city’s down town. The building was a marvel of glass and living branches melded together into living architecture, but it was no match for the Galra weapons. Metal melted and fire tore through the building as shards of glass fell in a deadly shower to the street below.

“Oh Light, please let it be empty.”

The building listed with a groan, flames spewing into the air as the ground rumbled again, lost in the blaring of the alarms and the screaming wail from those still left in the city.

“Coran will be sending ground troops as soon as he can. It’s what I would do.” Allura promised, voice stern but not unkind.

There would be time to mourn later, or no time at all.

Coran’s voice crackled over Allura’s wrist device, distorted from the battle above. “Kolivan, shore up the low orbit defenses! Drop ships getting through, someone stop that drone freighter now! Delta squad, pull up. You’re getting too close to those laser canons.”

The battle raged overhead as the city around them burned. Another roar shook the entire city as a tower of twisting crystal and blooming flowers crumbled, smashing into the streets. Laser fire erupted across tranquil parks, buried beneath a layer of ash. Overhead, the protective barrier shimmered again and fell as energy crackled like defeating thunder.

His home was burning, but Shiro couldn’t watch.

They raced through empty streets, weaving through makeshift barriers set as blockades. Graceful statues and ancient trees had been pulled down to slow the advancing Galra army. “That way!” Allura yelled in his ear as Shiro swerved sharply, the other two clinging to the hovercraft. “We have to find a way down.”

“Down?”

“LOOK OUT!”

Blaster fire caught the side of the hovercraft, sending them skidding sideways. Shiro barely managed to keep them from slamming into the side of a building as thick black smoke poured from their ruined engine. He picked himself up carefully, shards of glass embedded in his skin but he ignored them as he helped Keith and Allura stand. “Everyone okay?”

Keith groaned, a low guttural thing like the sound had been torn from his lips. He pressed both his palms into the jut of his eye sockets, doing his best to will back the headache that buzzed through his brain. Like Melemauna, he realized, too hurt to consider fear.

“They’re coming.”

“We’re not going to be able to hold them!” Coran cried out, his voice tinny through Allura’s communicator. “Regroup, we need to hold them back as long as we can.”

“Coran! Coran, can you hear me?” Allura tried to make contact, but she couldn’t get through the interference. An explosion bloomed silently in the sky as a Resistance frigate was destroyed, light streaking outward in a deadly flower that rained shrapnel high over the planet. Each piece caught fire in the atmosphere until the heavens were crying fire. The shockwave was delayed, a quiet shaking that grew in intensity until Keith could feel the teeth rattle in his head. It slammed into them, sending the hovercraft sideways as Shiro fought for control.

“Coran, more ships just dropped out of hyperspace!” Matt’s voice was high pitched with fear.

“Hold steady, don’t let them reach the surface of the planet.”

“Coran, please answer!” Allura begged, but her wrist display hissed with angry static. There was a boom, so loud it rippled through space until Keith swore he could hear it on the ground. Then the sky filled with light. The crash of explosions follower a beat too late, and with it, a message.

“This is Commander Rax of the Galactic Coalition transmitting on all channels. Members of the Galra fleet have one chance to surrender, before we blast you goddamn bastards out of the sky.”

But the Resistance answered with a roar.

Coran was yelling. “Balmeran, Antalian, Human, they’ve sent their fleets! Resistance fighters, form up with the coalition frigates. I want heavy artillery ships to the fore!”

“Coalition.” Allura whispered, looking up at the sky like she could see more than the soft bursts of light. “The Galactic Coalition actually sent their fleets to help. They’ve never…I didn’t think they’d come.”

“Then we have to get going, too.”

He and Allura pulled Keith back onto the bike, dusting it off and kicking it into gear. Allura brushed quickly at Shiro’s back, but there was little help she could offer the cuts that were left behind. That was when Shiro heard them. They marched as a single unit, footsteps resonating beneath the crackle of fire and choke of terrified screams.

“Hurry.”

They raced off in a blur, but those footsteps followed them down every corner, matching every turn, gaining no matter how fast they went. Then Shiro’s blood turned to ice in his veins. The drones started to run.

They turned down an alley and right into a volley of laser fire. Shiro never got time to stop, instead pulling hard on the hovercraft so it soared up, up,  _up_. Allura’s arm was tight around Shiro’s waist, keeping Keith sandwiched between them as she opened fire, taking out the first round of drones.

They just kept coming.

Every time a drone fell, more moved seamlessly to take their place. They were cannon fodder, the poor corrupted souls of a dozen dead worlds, dancing to their masters’ commands. The Koryu would join them if they couldn’t stop this.

The ground pitched beneath their hovercraft and cracks spider webbed through the street. Metal groaned above them as another living skyscraper cracked, leaves and glass showering down.

“Shiro, MOVE!” Keith yelled in his ear and Shiro gunned the engine. They shot ahead, plowing through the ranks of drones as the building beside them leaned to the side and began to fall. The great tree’s shadow swallowed them as Shiro fought to outrace it. Twisting metal screamed as they were crushed, but the drones never screamed, even as they burned.

Before the dusted could settle, more crept through, surrounding them on all sides.

Shiro looked around wildly, his mind a blank as he struggled to find an opening. He flew over the dismembered bodies of defeated drones, vaguely aware of how Keith’s grip wavered. “I have to… Keith hold on, if I can scale that ledge, we’ll go through the wreckage. It might slow them down.”

“They’re still coming.” Allura grunted. Keith had squeezed his eyes shut, his breathing gone ragged and fogging up his helmet.

“Then hold on.”

Shiro revved the engine, an angry rumble like gnashing teeth. If they failed here, they would fail everyone. There was no other option.

Then a grinding, gnashing broke through the dim, and suddenly a monster cut through the horde. Or it looked like a monster. A terrifying  _thing_ that might have once been a cargocraft but was modified to an inch of its life, splashed with what as much rust as blood. It tore through apart the drones in a flash of gore, carving a swathe around their hovercraft, and came to a stop, in front of them. Its roof opened and dropped with a heavy thud. A blond head poked through.

Nyma’s features were flushed with heat, her eyes wild. She carried a very big gun.

“Heard from a little bird that ground support was in order.” She eyed them each in turn, going from Shiro’s new prosthetic to Keith’s sick pallor, and finally Allura. She nodded once. “You must be the Paladin.”

Allura stared in surprise as Keith’s jaw dropped. “How-?”

“The big one’s speech really got to me. He was right, it’s way more fun killing Galra than hiding from them.” Nyma said with a wink for Shiro. “Besides, how could I say no when the Koryu made me a tank?” She whooped, firing into the massing drones. The Galra melted, flesh burned and metal fused together as Keith winced.

“I’m not sure that’s quite what we meant.” He said weakly.

“So where we goin’, Paladin?” Nyma called back over her shoulder.

“Ahead another few hundred feet, to the main sewer lines.” Allura recovered quickly and called to their ally. That was all Nyma needed. She rallied her people with a fist pump, other massive weapons rumbling towards them in a deadly escort. They plowed into the Galra drones, grinding their enemies beneath their wheels as laser blasts bounced harmlessly from their armor. Shiro followed using them as cover, weaving through the broken buildings and burning trees.

Allura followed some map the rest of them couldn’t see, guiding them through the streets as they clashed with swarming drones until she called out loudly enough for Nyma and her people to hear. “Stop! Right here, we need to go down.”

The park was almost untouched by the chaos around them, a small living ocean of green as the rest of the city went up in flames. There were no buildings, no weapons, nothing but the flowering trees that hung lazily over still, clear ponds. And at the end of it, nearly shrouded behind a large tree trunk was a vehicle entrance to the old maintenance tunnels.

“We’ll hold this position as long as we can!” Nyma grunted.

Keith’s heart went out to her, the most daring hope enough to leave him breathless. “May we shine.”  
  
The mercenary paused, but the corners of her mouth curled in an almost smile. “May we fucking shine.”  
  
She was the last thing they saw before they disappeared beneath the surface, she and her unstoppable tank, standing in a center of calm in a burning city. If she was the sort of hero that came to Koryusai’s aid, they might have a fighting chance.  
  
For a long time, there was silence. The maintenance corridors that supplied the floral structures along the city streets were mostly automated. The thrum of their hovercraft’s engine echoed down empty halls, while overhead the muffled sounds of battle raged on. Keith lost track of time, his world shrinking to the places he and Shiro touched and the rumble of power between his thighs. He tried to think about the Koryu, escaping the same way they did. Sometimes Allura’s hold would tighten. That was the only way he’d known he’d slipped.  
  
“Here.” Allura said, after what felt like an age. They stopped in the middle of a corridor that seemed identical to every other one. Keith had no idea where they were, and judging by the hard line of Shiro’s jaw, he was just as confused. Allura disembarked, slowly examining her surroundings before she came to a decision. “We need to go through here.”  
  
“What?” Keith was certain he’d misheard her.  
  
“Why? There’s nothing here. Allura what’s going on?”  
  
“This is where we’ll find what we need to manage Project Zero.” Allura whispered, her eyes downcast, but shoulders tense as if bracing for attack. “I know because we put it there.”  
  
“What?!”  
  
“Centuries ago, long before this blasted war, when my people were still ambassadors and voyagers, we met the Koryu. Please. I can show you everything, but we need to dig. We don’t have much time!”  
  
Shiro still hesitated, but only long enough to hand the hovercraft controls to Keith. Allura’s smile was sick with relief. As Shiro activated his arm, she modified the settings on her blaster. They began to dig.   
  
All they wanted was a path large enough for the hovercraft to pass through. It was slow, tiresome work. Keith joined them for short stretches, working until his aim faltered and his grip slackened. They were guided by nothing but the light of their quintessence, their environmental suits activating as the air grew thin. Twice Allura checked the strange map she’d brought along. It was the only time they stopped.  
  
Suddenly, the ground shifted, grown hard and tough. Allura held up a hand for them to stop. “Get on the hovercraft. We might need a quick exit.”  
  
Before their eyes, she grew until she was taller than Shiro, and broader in the shoulders. She waited until they were both settled, then she punched a hole through the wall. The entire cavern shuddered threateningly.

Shiro held his breath.

They raced through to another world.

When he and his brother had discovered the forgotten tunnels beneath the city, they hadn’t given much thought to how they were created or by whom. They’d been filled with ancient machinery and broken panels and the hum of something still functioning deep below their feet. They’d always assumed it had something to do with maintaining the barrier above the city or some part of an ancient power grid, boring and unused. He and Ryou had only cared about the tunnels to escape, two boys fleeing the confines of their protected city to see the real sky overhead and try to count the stars.

But this was deeper than the old tunnels. Beneath the old machinery and power conduits, the hum grew louder. Metal gave way to smooth cut stone as the cavern widened until the ceiling stretched so far above them that it was almost lost.  _There was life_. Plants grew from every available surface, a thick green jungle as far as they could see. Bright flowers bloomed like jewels, their petals glowing softly with their own bioluminescence in colors Shiro didn’t have names for. Tiny birds zipped between them, drinking from the sweet nectar, so much like the ones on the Freedom but also somehow different. Bigger, their tails feathers shimmering with color, light refracting down their iridescent backs.

Shiro held out his finger as one curious bird perched just on the tip, cocking its head curiously at the strangers and giving a sweet, clear chirrup before flying off again. He recognized some of the plants, the glassberries with their small clustered white flowers. It would be weeks before the fruit would be ready. The firebrands, pulsing spheres of red and orange that released puffs of black spores like smoke when disturbed. But there were others, so many others that he’d never seen before or only in ancient artwork. The surface of Koryusai might have been scoured clean of life except for the few pockets they’d managed to protect, but the core of their dead world teamed with life.

Above it all, a waterfall pounded against the rocks, sending a rainbow of spray up into the air. It flowed like water, but the light that shone from it was almost blinding. Pure quintessence pooling into a lake at the bottom of the cavern, the distilled energy of life itself.

“H-how?”

“My people found yours long ago, before I was born and before the Galra were created. You were the only ones we’d ever met who could manipulate quintessence the way we could.” Allura said softly, hushed like she was speaking in a holy place. “This is a temple we built together to that quintessence as a way to communicate between our people across the entire galaxy. It was supposed to be our promise to each other. The Light of Life. May we Shine.”

“But we’ve never heard anything about that.” Even as Shiro spoke, doubt crept through his thoughts. So much of Koryusai’s history had been lost to their bloody past. The generational tattoos had been an attempt to make sure they didn’t lose their most important lesson, but the past had taken the details.

He reached up, pressing his metal hand flat against the temple’s walls. There was no clear similarity between the power that coursed through it and the markings that were etched in stone, but part of him wanted there to be.

“Our scholars didn’t like to speak of it much. It’s not… something they were proud of. Koryusai marked the start of certain debates on Althea. Some Alteans thought your work was so remarkable that they wanted to  _absorb_ you into our society. Others saw that as an act of war. Eventually, the Koryu made the decision for us.”

Shiro exhaled noisily. “Because we destroyed ourselves.”

Allura’s smile cut across her face in an ugly gash. “With weapons we helped build.”

The temple rose out of the lake of quintessence, its pearlescent walls reflecting the light and covered with plants that wound their way up its surface. This could have been his planet, back before the destruction. This should have been home. The memories they passed down through tattoos had focused on the horrors his people had experienced as they turned on each other to keep them from ever making the same mistake, but it hadn’t included this world that they lost. Somehow, it hurt even worse than the toxic, radioactive ash above.

Keith gave a soft wheeze of pain as Project Zero flared to life, doubling over. Strong arms wrapped around him and kept him upright as they slowly wound their way through the wild underground garden. Worry trickled through their connection, but Keith knew that Shiro was never going to let him go.

“Are we there yet?” He rasped, sweat streaking down his temples.

“Almost. There’s something inside that controls the quintessence flow and the galactic broadcasts. It’s exactly what we need.”

This was penance for everything the Alteans had done, Keith could see the regret in every line of Allura’s body. But it wasn’t just her redemption, this was for the Galra too. For everything the Prince had done. They’d left a scar on the galaxy, but this was one step towards healing.

With a shaky nod, Keith clung to Shiro and tried to force his himself up the stone steps of the temple.

It shouldn’t have been a long trek, but the ground beneath his feet no longer felt solid. Halfway up the staircase, Shiro was bearing most of his weight. By the time they reached the entrance, Keith had given up any illusion of walking.

Then when everything stopped, he was on his back, across a smooth surface. He curled on his side, tucking his head under his arm. Shiro wouldn’t stop touching him. Shiro wouldn’t let him believe he was alone, not even for a moment.

Allura’s touch was cool against his feverish brow, the familiar pulse of her power still soothing after all this time. “Just rest. We’ll take it from here, Keith.”

She unfastened his wrist device. Shiro helped her.  Keith wondered if Shiro had ever watched it. Wondered if all Shiro had seen were the memories Keith retained of those horrors. It had been terrible, but he needed to know, the Freedom’s crew had been brave to the very end. They deserved so much more than they’d been dealt. 

Inside the temple, quintessence didn’t flow as freely. It was trapped in ornate pools along the edge of the walls. A few of the night flowers grew along the golden waters, their light reflecting dimly off scoured stone, but shadows had claimed most of the room.

Suddenly the walls were lit with color, quintessence cutting through stone and reopening old channels. In the center of it all was Allura, glowing with a strange new energy, and made divine by its light. Maybe it was hope.

“Keith- Keith stay with me.”

_“I’m sorry_.” Keith murmured in the spoken and unspoken mix of the Koryu language, smiling as he trailed his fingertips down the side of Shiro’s face. “ _You have to stop it_.”

“ _Just hold on, you’re going to be okay. Allura is going to take it out of you, you’ll heal.”_  Shiro said with so much confidence that Keith gave a gravely laugh.

“ _She has to destroy it, promise me.”_

“ _I promise_.”

The Paladin furiously tapped commands into the ancient machine, millennia old circuits springing to life at the command of Altean royalty. It resisted at first, parts damaged or inoperable, but then bloomed with color, as eagerly as her ship. “We’re ready. Let’s finish this.”

“I can’t let that happen, Princess.”

The voice called out from the foot of the stairs, cold and so damn smug.

Hard soled shoes tapped against the cool stone as Lotor started up the stairs, flanked by three female Elites. Even brought so low, Keith recognized them. Acxa, Narti and Zethrid, somehow lonelier without Ezor. His loyal commanders, as close to friends as Keith had ever had.

No, not Keith. Lotor was his past and would always be a part of him, shaping who he was like the tattoos on a Koryu’s skin, but he had changed. Keith had friends now, and real love. He had chosen to be better.

Lotor slowly sauntered towards them, clapping his gloved hands together so that they echoed around the temple. “It seems like once again, you’ve done all the hard work for me. Are you sure you didn’t travel through time just to make sure we succeeded?” He drawled as Keith drew himself up, wobbling for balance.

“This is a mistake. Project Zero is more dangerous than you understand, this is the only way to save everything.” Keith panted.

“It’s hard to imagine I could be so small-minded.” Lotor smiled with too many teeth. “Your pet won’t be able to stop us now. Acxa, Narti, Zethrid - stop the Paladin. I’ll handle the traitor.”

Lotor drew his sword with a vicious snap of his wrist. Shiro looked momentarily torn, his attention darting towards Allura, as the Galra generals surrounded her, before turning back to the monster that wore his best friend’s face.

Lotor left his generals to take down Allura, her usefulness at its end. With active Altean technology within his grasp, he didn’t need her to create his ultimate weapon. What Lotor didn’t count on was the Paladin’s sheer strength. Allura howled as she threw herself as the three general, body shifting and twisting as she moved. She held the strength of ancient worlds and fueled by rage and desperation. Koryusai wouldn’t fall again because of her people’s mistakes.

She slid on the stone floor striking out at Narti’s legs to sweep them out from under her. Without pause, she was up on her feet, fist clenched as she smashed it into Acxa’s face. “That’s for Fern.” She spat. 

Zethrid slammed into Allura from behind and the Paladin crashed into the stone wall with a crack, blood trickling from her nose as she wobbled on her feet. She tried to recover, but the large Elite only laughed and lifted Allura up over her head, throwing the Paladin down the stairs. She rolled before finally coming to a stop by the edge of the glowing lake.

“I thought you’d be tougher.” Zethird said mockingly as Acxa lept down the stairs and Narti followed like a silent shadow. “I’m almost disappointed.”

Allura lifted herself up with a pained groan, her eyes glowing a vibrate pink in a mirror image of the elite’s bright yellow eyes. She didn’t bother to respond as she reached out to the power around her, a gift from her people long ago and the energy of life. For all the Galra’s manipulation of their flesh through stolen DNA and technology, they’d lost the ability to touch life itself. Pink lightning crackled at her fingertips and the lake behind her boiled. The plants of Koryusai responded to her call as vines whipped out to wrap themselves around the three generals, but she was too far away to stop Lotor.

But Shiro wasn’t.

Lotor’s sword scrapped against Shiro’s metal arm, sending sparks in every direction. The Koryu hissed in Lotor’s face, ears flattened against his skull and teeth bared. “Don’t touch him.”

They parried, the sharp blade whirling almost too fast to see, but Shiro was there to block him, knowing all of his moves before Lotor had even taken a step. Knowing all of  _Keith’s_  moves. “Who do you think you are?” The prince snarled, pulling back.

“Stronger than you.” The voice whispered right over his shoulder. Just as Lotor turned, a heavy slab of stone slammed into the side of his thigh, forcing him off balance. Shiro moved at that moment, taking advantage of the distraction just as Lotor lashed out, blindly swiping at his other self. He was always just a millisecond too late to catch either one of them.

They worked together seamlessly, picking apart Lotor’s defenses and moving like a single unit. Keith exploited every weakness, every shortcoming he’d ever feared, tearing apart his own means of self-preservation and pushing his younger self to his limits. As the heat of Project Zero stole his strength, Shiro guarded his back, knowing almost sooner than Keith where his defenses would fall.

They knocked him to the ground, sending his sword sprawling. In a gesture that was vindictively familiar, Keith kicked it up off the ground and caught it mid-air. Lotor hadn’t moved where he’d fallen.

For one, cold moment, Keith wondered what would happen if he slit the Galra’s throat. Would he be damning himself, or saving the galaxy?

“Keith, come on.” Shiro whispered, drawing him back to the present with an arm around his wrist. “We have to help the Paladin.”

_And then._

Then it would all be over.

They never should have turned their back on Lotor.

The shot burned through flesh and Shiro fell before he could scream. The Koryu crumpled to the temple floor as Keith screamed for him, Shiro’s name torn from his lips. Blood spilled across the smooth pearly stone in a dark stain and Keith couldn’t tell if Shiro was still breathing. Lotor attacked before he could move, slamming them both down to the ground as they grappled for control.

“You’re weak.” Lotor said through bloody fangs. “I won’t let myself get so weak! I am Lotor, Prince of the Galra and you are  _not_  my destiny.” The heavy weight of Lotor’s blaster slammed into Keith’s skull over and over until his head spun and the world narrowed down into a distant, dark tunnel. Light burned through his ribs as Project Zero burned again and he made one last desperate bid. Allura had used the same words once and he’d listened. He’d changed. Keith knew all of Lotor’s greatest vulnerabilities.

“You can’t do this.” Keith rasped. “I’ve seen what it can do. You can’t use Project Zero in the machine, it could destroy the whole galaxy…”

“The galaxy is a small sacrifice to make for the glory of the Galra. That’s my true destiny.” Lotor sneered. He pulled out a long dagger from his hip, its hilt flowing with violet runes. The symbol of his status and his power.

“But it’ll kill you, too.”

Lotor hesitated, a flicker of doubt skirting across his features, so quickly Keith only noticed because he knew to look. It was gone in an instant. “Then so be it.”

Keith barely felt the tip pierce his skin, already consumed with pain from the Altean weapon consuming him from the inside. Lotor sliced through flesh and cracked through bone and metal, peeling back Keith’s chassis to expose the glowing device nestled in his inner mechanics.

Keith was sobbing. Or maybe he wasn’t. He couldn’t tell anymore. It hurt too much, too completely, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Lotor took him apart without mercy or care, tearing through the machinery in his ribs to pull out the mechanism Keith had guarded for so long.

Somewhere someone was screaming.

“Hold her back! Don’t let her intervene, hold her  _urk-”_

In Lotor’s hands was a sphere of pure quintessence, softer than pure gold and too bright to look at. Pain twisted across his features. His synthetic skin melted, bled off of bone and metal, the unadulterated power thrumming through his entire being. It was overwhelming. It was terrifying. A burst of anger shuttered his thoughts. The traitor carried this monstrosity for months at the least. Lotor could carry it this far.

Yet his legs were slow to respond. Each step was a battle, like the ground had reached up to cling to his feet. The Paladin was free again. He could hear Zethrid howling, he’d never heard her so hurt. Just a few more steps.

“Keith…”

The strange one. Bleeding and broken, but still pulling itself along, trying to get to his weaker self. It was going to be dead soon. It was no threat to Lotor.

This was his purpose, the gift of Galra supremacy. If it cost him his life, he would be proud to die if it meant preserving his people. Any future version of himself that had been too afraid to make that sacrifice deserved to be wiped out.

Project Zero responded to the Altean quintessence machine, it’s glowing pulse beating faster. They called to each other, a key to its lock, unleashing the Galra code to every organic everywhere in the Galaxy. In one moment, Lotor could end the war and save them all, bringing them into the welcoming embrace of the Galra. This was his legacy.

“Give your princess my thanks.” Lotor spat blood, pain singing through his body as he fit the sphere of energy into the quintessence engine. For a moment, nothing happened.

A burst of light exploded from the ancient machine, a halo of golden energy thick and crackling with power. It swept through the cavern and kept expanding, racing faster and faster and it bent time and space to it’s will. Keith could almost taste the code, a perfect combination of mathematics and genetics with the power to rewrite the fundamental truths of the universe. But instead of slavery and mindlessness, a sliver of golden energy changed the equation.

Freedom.

The history of his people with their lost life at its core. Pidge’s unparalleled brilliance and her compassion to turn a weapon into salvation, written in the quintessence of the Galra’s forgotten selves, the Alteans. Keith could feel the change as billions of drones woke up into a tumble of confusion and fear and joy.

Pidge’s virus had finally worked and Lotor had taken the bait.

For the first time in years, Keith let himself be swept into the hivemind. He could hear them, buzzing like insects in the skies above. Yet what had once been a swarm had devolved as their unity shattered. Some of them disappeared, as enemy ships took advantage of a single moment’s distraction. Others ran, to Koryusai, to the stars, and everywhere they could reach.

It was chaos.

It was hope.

Project Zero burned like a star. Lotor’s silhouette flickered in and out of existence. Its power was too great for even the temple to contain. The ground beneath their feet trembled, the entire structure shaken to its very core.

Shiro was there, but struggling. His environmental suit was splintered and bare where he’d been hit. He needed to leave, they both needed to. But Lotor had stopped screaming, and somehow that was worse.

Keith pushed himself forward, so sure he’d never make it so far. He tried to reach out, offering the Prince an unsteady hand. “You have to let go,” he croaked. “It’s the only way.”

“No, I can fix this! I not weak like you!” Lotor howled, trying to exert his control over the glowing orb as the power consumed him.

“Take my hand!”

“I can save them!”

Something yanked Keith back, lifting him up when he was too weak to walk. Shiro held him tightly as he limped towards the entrance, determined to carry both of their broken bodies to safely. Behind them, Lotor dissolved, pulled completely into the machine as quintessence began to burst from the floor like bubbling lava. Keith closed his eyes, grieving for a past he couldn’t save.

In the end, Lotor had saved the Galra after all.

“Shiro.” Keith whispered, every breath wet and heavy as he tried to draw air into his ruined lungs. The wound on his chest made sucking noises with the effort, bleeding and sparking where delicate wiring had been torn free.

“Hold on to me, I’m getting us out of here.” Shiro promised, though Keith didn’t know how he could be standing either.

“This way, hurry! It’s going to collapse!” Allura called them over, the three Galra generals laying at her feet wrapped in blooming vines. She still sparkled with power as the plants leaned in closer to her, hungry the light of the sun.

Great bricks of white stone broke off from the temple, too ancient to contain the power that pulsed through it. The ground rumbled and cracked, throwing them sideways as a piece of the cavern crashed down between them.

They were trapped.

“Allura! Just go, we’re right behind you.” Shiro yelled, looking around desperately for another way out.

“I’m not leaving you behind.” The Paladin threw her power behind her words, but too much quintessence boiled in the heart of Koryusai for her to control. They could hear her digging, but it was a heartbreaking soft sound beneath the shift of collapsing stone.

“I won’t… let this…”

There was another tremor, like the ground itself was dancing. It let loose another wave of dust and stone. They had no way of knowing if Allura’d survived. Then they heard her digging again. Keith closed his eyes.

“Allura, Allura can you see it?” Keith pleaded. “I think the skyline opened up. We can see the stars!”

“What?”

Shiro inhaled sharply. There were tears spilling down his cheeks, but when he spoke, his voice gave away none of his grief. “We found a way out! We’ll meet you at the surface, pick us up on the hovercraft! Hurry!”

Allura hesitated. Keith swore he could  _feel_  her hesitate. Then her voice filtered through, small but brave.

“I’ll find you! Just hold on!” Allura swore. This time they didn’t reply. They knew it was a promise she couldn’t keep. Together, they listened to her fading footsteps, until there was nothing at all.

Carefully, Shiro hobbled deeper into the building, no destination in mind, but chasing the hope that they could find somewhere quieter, if that was all they could manage. Keith’s legs had already given out. They leaned on each other, sharing what comfort they could manage.

They stood in the dying flicker of a lost legacy. It was a fitting burial ground. 

“You lied,” Shiro murmured, shaking his head. “Twice.”

Keith tucked his face into the corner of his shoulder, his eyes squeezed shut, and he could almost pretend that he had no regrets. Once upon a time, she’d given everything to save him. This was almost enough to even the score.

“I learned from the best.”

Shiro’s laughter filled his mind.

He didn’t know how they made it. Time came in first and spurts, pain rising in a crescendo before unconsciousness would claim him. Keith would wake up gasping in agony as Shiro climbed through crumbling ruins and sweltering tunnels. The Koryu refused to give up, that never seemed to change. They stumbled and Shiro pulled them up again, screaming against the universe for more time. Just a few minutes.

Please, just a little more.

The wind answered them. A burst of fresh air.

They pulled themselves from the underground into the biting, windswept wastes. Lights flickered far in the distance as the city of Shiro burned, black smoke rising upwards where the shimmering barrier had once protected it from the toxic, ruined wastes. When Shiro fell again, he didn’t pick them back up.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, using the last of his strength to pull Keith into his arms.

“Shhhh…” Keith traced a bloodstained fingertip down Shiro’s jaw, hand trembling with the effort.

Stars shone overhead, the same stars Shiro had been chasing his entire life. He’d run from home and safety just to see them and dreamed of nothing else but reaching them. Shiro settled back into the dirt and looked up, tears filling his eyes. He’d seen the horrors that lurked in the dark spaces between the lights and the ugliness they could hold. He’d been so afraid he’d hate them now.

“They’re still beautiful.” The words whispered past his lips.

A soft light bloomed in the empty desert, a point of glowing green. Then a second. The scarred, radioactive surface of Koryusai sparked to life as the quintessence burst from its hidden core. Keith reached out one hand to gently touch the tip of the tiny glowing plant that sprouted beside him. The surface of Koryusai mirrored the stars. “Yeah. It’s beautiful.”

Shiro slumped against him, his presence fading from Keith’s mind, the quiet whisper of a friendly goodbye. His dead weight slumped against Keith, and Keith held on, pretending that the chill in his heart didn’t reach so deep.

On the horizon, the first rays of light crept towards the sky. It would be a new dawn.

Keith rested his head on Shiro’s shoulder, and closed his eyes.  

 

* * *

 

_–Begin Recording?—_

_> >Yes_

The camera flickered as Keith sat in front of the lens, dark smudges beneath his eyes and new scars peeking out from beneath his clothes. He looked tired, resigned, but calm.

“They tell you when you’re victorious that the fighting stops. That’s a lie.” He sighed and brushed back his bangs that had gotten so much longer. “During the drone uprising, even Zarkon couldn’t stand against so many. The ones that could go home did, but there were so many and they’d been Galra for so long they didn’t know how to be anything else.” Keith gave the camera a weak smile. “Not everyone was so welcoming to Galra trying to live beside them.”

“The Koryu have opened their world to the refugees. The planet is blooming now, all of the quintessence has seeded the entire planet with life. We did it, we actually saved them.”

Keith took a deep breath, holding his hands in his lap to try and keep from twisting them. Changing the future had been worth every sacrifice, but it had cost them all. “The Galra needed someone to lead them and I-…they made me…I’m doing the best I can to protect my people. It’s what I’ve always tried to do, but between the few remaining elites still loyal to Zarkon’s vision and so many individual minds, it’s not easy. In the stories, they never tell you how hard it is after.”

He smiled for the first time. The shadows under his eyes no longer looked as dark. “It’s not all bad. I know Hunk was recognized by the New-Martian Aeronautics and Space Administration for his work with A.I. I understand it’s a human honor. We built a new body for Chet. His mother was- it took some time, but she was just happy to have him back. He’s going to make a strong captain one day.”

“I don’t see Allura often. The Core Worlds all have some form of business with the Paladin, but she calls Koryusai her home now.” Keith barked out a laugh. “Nyma does, too, when she’s not ruling a criminal enterprise. It’s lead to…  _disagreements_.”

He didn’t seem to mind them in the least.

Keith was quiet for a moment, staring off at something the camera couldn’t catch. The Galra were shapeshifters and quintessence manipulators, yet it seemed time had finally caught up with Keith. He was older. Tired.

“Sometimes I still don’t know why I made this records, Takashi.” He whispered. “The past is dead and buried. I know better than to try and change it, and I know… This won’t bring anyone back.”

Keith closed his eyes. “Some nights are worse than others.” He shivered slightly. Not all of his scars were worn on his body. “I will remember them. All of them. Even the ones who died in a future we managed to change. I’m the only one left who knew about their sacrifices and I won’t ever forget that they’re heroes. I won’t ever forget you.”

Keith quieted, his ears drooping against his hair, his features drawn but pensive. Everything changed in an instant. He winced like he’d bit into a lemon, hands pressing against his ears, and behind him a door opened with a whoosh.

“Urgh, why are you so loud?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Shiro stood in the doorway, donning the traditional rich purples of a Galra uniform, but the cloth was soft and design unfamiliar. The right sleeve was tied into a knot and out of his way and his bangs had burned white from quintessence exposure. He wouldn’t stop  _yowling_.

“Shiroooo.” Keith’s voice took on a petulant whine as the Koryu smushed his face affectionately, rubbing the fluffy cat ears Keith still wore. It was too effective and Shiro knew it. Keith melted in his arms. “I was making a recording.”

“This is worth recording too.” Shiro said, giving the camera a wink. “We only have thirty minutes before the resettlement meeting and you still haven’t gotten dressed yet.” Keith drooped as Shiro pressed a kiss to the side of his face. “Maybe we can both be late?”

“Shiro!” The new Emperor of the Galra people flushed but didn’t really protest, forgetting the recording was on as he pulled his mate down into a deep kiss. When he finally came up for air, he was disheveled, ears frizzed and crooked. “Go on.” Keith croaked. “I’ll be right there.”

“Alright.” Shiro smiled, love filling the space between them until Keith felt like his bones had melted and he was weightless. He turned back to the camera with a dreamy smile before clearing his throat and trying to put himself back in order.

“It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. I wanted my people to have a real future and now I can help build that, even if I don’t know how it will turn out this time. And the Koryu and the Unilu and my friends. We all get to have our future now.” Keith looked off screen for a moment before turning back with a grin. “Even Shiro and me.”

_–End Recording—_

**Author's Note:**

> This is a solo project! Rune's tumblr is [ here](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com) and twitter is [Here](https://twitter.com/Runicscribbles)
> 
> Come say hello. :)


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